Fallout New Vegas: The Mojave Bankroll
by Grump Joe
Summary: Follow the Courier after his victory over the Second Battle of the Hoover Dam, maintaining New Vegas and defending his new independent nation from enemies that still lurk in the Wasteland. Details of the story are based on my own personal playthrough of the game.
1. Prologue: Victory Over Hoover Dam

Finally, after all the fighting, the Courier achieved victory over the many that sought to claim the Hoover Dam, and eventually New Vegas in the distance. Caesar's Legion fled back east in terror as they were gunned down by the Courier's awaken army of Securitrons. The New California Republic had no choice but to leave the Dam for they were not prepared to handle the Courier's forces for they were already weaken in their fight against the Legion. Also, their commanding officer, General Lee Oliver, was know where to be seen.

The Courier walked along the Hoover Dam, partially limping, while many Securitrons passed him by to secure the area, and onward to New Vegas to do the same. With him was Rex, his cybernetically enhanced dog companion, Cass, Boone, and his robot, ED-E. Others were there with him but he ordered them to go back into New Vegas for they deserved rest. The others with him chose to stick around a little longer despite his insistence. Rex and ED-E especially didn't want to leave the Courier's side. Nonetheless, the Courier appreciated them sticking around.

The Courier leaned on the side of the Dam, looking over toward the side with the Colorado River far down below. It was a beautiful view and he briefly admired it. Meanwhile, Boone and Cass looked at the scattered bodies of both NCR and Legion soldiers among each other. A passing Securitron ran over the head of a dead NCR trooper with complete indifference for it had a single place it needed to be outside of Vegas. It was like crushing a watermelon and this partially grossed out Cass who tried to hide her reaction. Boone didn't care as he continued looking around, poking some of the dead that could be alive. He was used to the sight of a battle's aftermath due to his time in the NCR.

Rex crawled up to the Courier's side after sniffing around, with ED-E hovering close by. The Courier then turned around to face Rex to pat him before looking back at the Colorado River. The sun was soon to set and smoke littered the sky. No doubt the people around New Vegas could see it. If not, they'll definitely see the passing herd of Securitrons as they kicked up dust in their journey towards the city.

As the Courier looked out into the open, a small gust of wind with specks of dust blew by, some of the dust hitting his NCR ranger helmet, the armor of his elite riot gear, and his Pip-boy 3000. Finally, he stepped back from the edge and looked at his left side after the sun reflected off something. It was the mask of Legate Lanius that hung partially out from the Courier's satchel. Lanius was a worthy foe and so the Courier decided to keep his mask as a trophy. Such a feat was thought impossible among the Legion due to the brutal reputation of Lanius. Without Caesar or the Legate to guide them, perhaps the Legion will crumble upon itself before they could make a return.

"I guess he can get the Securitrons to clean up all these bodies, eh?" Cass casually asked Boone to break the silence while reaching for her flask that contained whiskey. Boone remained silent and looked at the rising smoke that came from the Legion's camp on Fortification Hill, also known as The Fort. He cracked a brief smile at the sight.

Cass then turned her attention toward the Courier who sat himself on the ground. Rex tried to lick him but the Courier playfully pushed him back. ED-E made a few cheerful beeps and did a small, playful dance in the air. Admittedly, Cass found it somewhat adorable despite her tough personality.

Cass finally approached the Courier but stepped back as a Securitron quickly passed by, almost bumping into her. Rex laid at the Courier's side, observing Cass as he wagged his tail. He liked her.

"What's next?" Cass asked in an unenthusiastic tone as she drank from her flask of whiskey in front of the Courier.

"Yes Man is handling everything at the moment. Later I'll be speaking with him, hopefully." Said the Courier sadly. Yes Man stated earlier he was going to seem offline for a while as he made changes to his programming. The Courier really owed it to that happy AI for they accomplished a lot together. Hopefully Yes Man's absence wouldn't be too long. They still have a lot to do for their new nation.

The Courier got up from the ground and turned to face the setting sun. Again, the Courier admired his surroundings. The color the sun gave off made everything around feel surreal, almost as if it was all like a dream, except it was real.

"Let's get back to New Vegas. We're pretty much done here... For now, at least." Said the Courier to his companions. He then turned to follow the road that lead into the rest of the Mojave.

Without a word, Boone and Cass followed. Rex got up excitedly and ran toward the Courier after giving out a single bark. ED-E followed, playing music from the radio. As they walked away, the Courier looked slowly side to side at Securitrons that stood guard or were going on a patrol route around the dam.

_There's going to be more things to come in the future for me to take of_, thought the Courier.

While they walked, Cass had a thought of her own as she observed the Courier up ahead. She pondered on how impressive he was able to defeat three armies, taking control of one and pushing out the other two. She thought that maybe he may have a great chance of keeping the land independent of other factions. Meanwhile, Boone too had a few thoughts of his own. He was glad to see the Legion defeated but felt unsure of how New Vegas will hold under the Courier. The NCR, whom he once served, had their strengths to hold New Vegas. Nonetheless, Boone did thought that maybe the Courier could do a better job at protecting the city, and it had sentimental value to him personally. Boone would hate for the city where he met his wife, Carla, to be in the hands of the Legion or even raiders.

Both Cass and Boone did share one common thought about the Courier:

_He probably still have plenty of tricks left up his sleeve._

They followed the road into the nearby Boulder City, and there one can see New Vegas in the distance brighter than ever with the power generated by the Hoover Dam. Hopefully, a bright future awaited for all in New Vegas and the Mojave.

As the Courier and his companions journeyed through Boulder City toward New Vegas, a scout of the Legion watched from a distant hill with a set of binoculars. He laid on his belly, upon the dusty earth, alone with only his thoughts for company.

_The man that broke the horns of the Legion... Caesar's Legion! The man that slain my brothers! Beyond a doubt everyone at the Fort is gone. That coward relied on an army of moving gadgets for a cheap, bloodless victory. He sacrificed nothing. There is no greater insult to the Legion than that! There was no honor or respect rightfully earned today. If only I arrived sooner to join the battle, I would slay the coward and deliver his head to the grave of Caesar._

As the scout laid there, he heard the call of a raven somewhere not so far away. Then he heard it again and could tell this time it wasn't actually from a raven. It was definitely someone from his team. This gave him a sense of relief for he was getting lost in his thoughts. Also, he could share what occurred at the Hoover Dam, along with his anger.

Beyond a doubt he'll likely see other Legion teams as they try to return near the Colorado River to see what happened and flee across to regroup with the rest. Whatever would happen, he wasn't able to really ponder on it. Rage was gnawing at the back of his mind.

Before the scout left, he took one last look at the Courier in the distance.

_Unto death, I, Cassius, shall avenge Caesar... Someday._

Cassius then left his position toward the direction of the false raven call, disappearing into the night of the Mojave to join his Legion brothers.


	2. First Day of Independence

The Courier watched out of the window from the penthouse of the Lucky 38, the highest floor of the building that provided an excellent view of New Vegas and the surrounding Wasteland. It was where he would meet Mr. House before he was overthrown. He was alone except for a few Securitrons that stood around. The Courier wore the checkered suit that formerly belonged to his would-be killer, now deceased, Benny. It was a nice suit. It was the least Benny owed him for putting a bullet in his head and leaving him buried in the desert. He dressed to possibly go out celebrating with his friends over his victory at the Hoover Dam. He just felt bothered by having his face shown around. He was used to obscuring it with helmets and masks. It made him feel exposed without them. Perhaps the whole incident of being shot in the head had affected him in a much deeper way than he thought. Still, he dealt with worse things. He recalled his spine and heart being removed along with his brain back at the Big Mountain Research and Development Center. That was an unusual time. Silly mad scientists.

The Courier brushed through his hair with his right hand and walked away from the window to the area of the floor where there was the large monitor that once displayed the image of Mr. House, which then displayed Yes Man. Now, it is just a message that stated "Offline". Yes Man had been gone for a day and the Courier already missed the sight of his friendly face. Maybe he'll be back today. There's no need to worry. At least it wasn't a month which would be very troubling.

The Courier sighed and went into the elevator to go down to the presidential suite. His companions were there, enjoying the place.

He planned to maybe change his suit for another one. Maybe the checkered suit was too tacky. Cass made that comment earlier and the more he pondered on it he slowly agreed.

He pressed a button in the elevator and it made it's small descent. The presidential suite wasn't far down, it was on the 22nd floor. The elevator stopped and the doors opened apart to allow its occupant out into the floor.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, the Courier was greeted by Rex laying on the floor, erecting his head up and wagging his tail. Rex was panting and the glass case that held his brain lightened up.

The Courier smiled at the dog as soon as he saw him, and then he immediately heard the others in the recreational room. Among the sound of the voices of his companions, there was music that was most definitely being played by ED-E. The Courier also heard sounds from the kitchen. He planned to check on them momentarily, and he proceeded to his bedroom.

Once inside, the Courier locked the door and headed toward one of the wardrobe cabinets to the left of the room that is the closest to the bed. He picked out a simple gambler suit. While he changed, he was reminded of his many travels from various items he had around the room. On the desk that was present to the left from the bedroom door, in one of the locked cabinets at the bottom, it had five gold bars from the Sierra Madre casino resort, a desolate nightmare of a place near the Grand Canyon. Next, there was also the broken power fist of Caesar that was placed on the top of one of the clothing cabinets. So many memories were there in that bedroom, the memories of challenges the Courier had overcome.

He finished buttoning up the suit and exited the room. Rex was still laying on the floor near the elevator and raised his head up, panting. Again, the Courier smiled. Next, the Courier entered the recreation room.

Raul Tejada, a ghoul the Courier saved from imprisonment on top of Black Mountain which was ruled over by super mutants, greeted the Courier while playing pool on his own. Raul was at the side of the pool table that allowed him to see the door into the lobby.

"Hola, señor." Said Raul in Spanish while leaning at the side of the pool table looking down his cue stick before hitting the cue ball.

Cass was at the liquor cabinet, pouring herself a glass of scotch since there was no whiskey. She didn't look to acknowledge the Courier's presence and took a seat on the couch. Meanwhile, Veronica and Arcade, who were dressed formally, were at a table left of the room playing a game of chess with ED-E spectating. As soon as Raul previously greeted the Courier, ED-E spun around and produced cheerful beeps. Veronica and Arcade followed by turning their attention away from the chessboard to see the Courier and they greeted him with a smile. The Courier approached them and ED-E quickly moved aside to give him room near the table.

"Who's winning?" Asked the Courier to Veronica and Arcade with a smile while he crossed his arms.

"I am!" Proclaimed Veronica gleefully.

"Yeah," started Arcade to the Courier, "I'm losing. Guess I got dumber or something."

"Ah, don't say things like that, Gannon." Replied Veronica to Arcade as she sat back in her seat. Arcade continued talking to the Courier after giving a glance to Veronica.

"Unlike me, you are great at playing the game of chess as evidenced by what happened at the dam."

"It really wasn't me that was entirely responsible for what happened. It was a group effort." Humbly replied the Courier. He indeed spoke truth. The Courier success was largely thanks to the help of Yes Man, the Boomers at Nellis Air Force Base, the Enclave Remnants, and his friends around him. Otherwise, it would've been a difficult endeavor.

"Whatever it was, I'm happy the Legion is gone. Those damn barbarians. Their defeat is definitely going to be one of my best memories to share." Said Arcade with a smile.

"I definitely agree with that. Those assholes had it coming." Veronica added.

"Don't mention it. I'm happy they scrambled back east. Also, I look forward most to keeping the Mojave free." Replied the Courier.

Meanwhile, as Cass drank her glass of scotch, she glanced at the trio talking. She noticed the Courier changed his suit.

_Thank god._ Thought Cass. To her, the checkered suit was an eye sore. After the drink, Cass looked down at the glass. It was very close to being empty. She got up from the couch and walked to the liquor cabinet, passing Raul as he looked puzzlingly at the pool table, holding the cue stick like a cane.

Cass grabbed the whole bottle of scotch and she exited the recreation room. As soon as she stepped into the lobby, Rex, in the same spot, started to wag his tail and start patting. She gave an uncomfortable looking smile. She didn't really dislike dogs but she wasn't completely used to the sight of a cybernetic dog. Also, she thought it was depressing someone would do such a thing to an animal. At least Rex looked happy. That gave Cass some comfort.

Cass headed toward the kitchen for she had gotten hungry. Once in the kitchen, Cass found the hulking mutant Lily at the stove steering a boiling pot with a ladle spoon. Lily was in deep concentration for she didn't want to ruin the meal she was preparing, but she did notice Cass.

"Oh. Hello, dear. Grandma's making supper." Lily excitedly said to Cass. Lily then moved away from the pot to the counter, leaving the ladle inside the pot. On the counter were some carrots, potatoes, and bits of brahmin meat on separate cutting boards. Lily gathered them onto one board and took them back to the stove. Then, she slid the food into the pot.

"Smells pretty good." Cass responded.

"Please take a seat at the table, sweetheart. Grandma's almost finished." Said Lily as she continued to stir the pot. Cass complied, taking the closest chair.

_Never thought I'd be served food by a nightkin. _Thought Cass. Like all people in the Mojave, Cass's encounters with super mutants were mostly hostile, especially with nightkin. That variant of the mutants had a deadly reputation due to their use of stealth, even though super mutants tend to be the less subtle with their methods of approach. Anyway, Cass enjoyed Lily's presence. She liked the maternal attitude Lily has and found her quite interesting.

Back to the Courier in the recreation room, Arcade brought up something.

"By the way, thanks to the new securitrons, Freeside has become more safe and made things easier for the Followers of the Apocalypse but during the battle a high amount of people got hospitalized. They don't have a lot of medical supplies. Also, the lives of the Kings are now easier too thanks to you. The King himself wants you to come down there as a thank you and to celebrate your victory at Hoover Dam." Stated Arcade.

"I'll go meet with the Followers soon. Did you see the King himself?" Asked the Courier.

"No, one of his guys was at the entrance to the Strip and told me while I was going in. After that, that guy quickly ran into the strip into the Gomorrah casino faster than a Freeside junkie after snorting powdered mentats and taking jet at the same time." Replied Arcade.

"You seen that?" Asked Veronica curiously to Arcade.

"The junkie? Maybe. That'll explain some of the highs I seen from people in the past, though they likely have a more creative way to get a boost than what I said." Answered Arcade while leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Later I'll visit the Kings. By the way, have you seen Boone?" The Courier asked.

"Oh, he is sleeping in the guest room." Said Veronica.

"Alright." The Courier simply replied to Veronica.

"Hey, another thing, the Remnants send their greetings. Whitman wanted me tell you if you need the vertibird as a method of transportation, say the word." Arcade further added. Daisy Whitman was a former pilot for the Enclave long ago, and so far the only person the Courier knew that can fly a vertibird.

"That's great. It will surely be handy in the future." Replied the Courier.

"It definitely will. It beats walking all day. Anyway, Veronica and I should finish this game. Maybe my luck will turn around."

"Nope." Shimmed in Veronica.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it." Said the Courier. ED-E responded with a few beeps at the Courier.

"Of course you can continue watching the game, buddy." Replied the Courier.

ED-E beeped some more, indicating happiness. The Courier patted ED-E and turned toward the exit. He had a glimpse of Raul. He was away from the pool table, instead being at the liquor cabinet. Raul sorted through empty bottles. He finally selected a bottle of beer, and turned around to face the Courier while looking down at the bottle in his hands.

"Boss, it looks like we are going to need a restock of liquor. You know, have more variety to choose from." Raul critiqued to the Courier.

"Noted, Raul."

The Courier left the room and went into the kitchen. As soon as he entered, Lily welcomed him.

"You are just in time, sweetheart. I just finished making grandma's famous soup." Said Lily as she turned off the stove and grabbed a couple of bowls. With the ladle, Lily quickly poured the contents of the pot into the bowls, and she placed them on the table behind. Cass was the first to receive her bowl of soup since she was already first to be seated a few minutes ago.

"Thank you, Lily, but I don't feel very hungry." Said the Courier.

"Aww, that's too bad, dear. You look like you could use some meat on your bones. Are you sure, sweetheart?"

The Courier gave it some thought and decided to indulge Lily.

"Alright then." He replied.

"That's great to hear, dear. Please take a seat and have your supper." Lily said happily. She turned around and attended to the pot to pour herself a bowl, which she drank and placed on the counter.

The Courier took a seat three chairs away from Cass to her left. The two were quiet while Lily sung an old pre-War song to herself as she brought the bowl of soup over to the Courier.

"There you go, sweetie." Said Lily.

"Thanks."

The Courier looked down at the bowl. Bits of carrot, potato, and meat floated in the broth. The Courier quietly ate at it before turning to Cass.

"This is great." He said to Cass.

"Yeah, it is." Cass said without much life while staring at the almost empty bowl of soup. She was deep in thought. The soup brought back a wave of memories from Cass's youth, a more simpler time.

"Are you alright?" The Courier asked. Cass then came out of her thoughts and looked at the Courier.

"It's nothing. It really is good." She said. Cass then got up from her seat and walked away from the table toward the exit of the room while thanking Lily.

The Courier watched Cass leave. He briefly stared at the air before he turned to look back at his soup. He looked at the bowl. Its shape reminded him of the crater Big Mountain. Then, it made him thought of the scientific knowledge there. He occasionally would visit that place from time to time, and he pondered on the potential of it. He'll go one of these days but first he hoped to share his ideas with Yes Man.

Finally, the Courier, after consuming more of the soup, rose from his seat, thanked Lily, and left the kitchen. He wanted to check the Strip. When he arrived back from the battle at the dam, it was the middle of the night. Most people were not out due to being anxious regarding the outcome of the battle. Not everyone knows yet that he defeated the NCR and Caesar's Legion, creating New Vegas into a new independent nation. That would help explain to them why NCR soldiers were no longer at the city, even though they are most likely hiding at Camp McCarren (formerly known as McCarran International Airport), another thing the Courier will need to handle as soon as Yes Man returned. He'll also would have to make some addresses to the public, especially to any NCR citizens that are still around who may be scared. They are to know the Courier welcomes them to be a part of New Vegas, but not the corrupt government of the NCR. In general, he welcomed anybody that yearned to be free.

As he travelled to the elevator, he called for Rex to come with him to the casinos of the Strip. Then, Veronica and Arcade just finished their chess game and also wanted to come along. They were dressed for going out around the Strip anyway. Then there was Cass. She didn't have any plans and there was no whiskey to accompany her at the suite so she joined them. She was willing to try her luck.

The gang made their way out of the Lucky 38 through the elevator and onto the Strip. There was a few people outside. Some avoided making eye contact with the Courier or his associates. There was noticeably a couple more securitrons present, and the day was bright. There was hardly any clouds in the sky. Overall, there was order, no chaos.

The Courier then guided his friends toward the center of the Strip where they would split up. The Courier and Rex were heading to the Tops casino while Veronica, Arcade, and Cass went toward the Ultra-Luxe (it no longer had a cannibal problem). He never really took the time to play before because he was too busy tending to things. Now, he had plenty of free time since Yes Man wasn't around. Also, the Courier won the Second Battle of the Hoover Dam so he deserved time to enjoy himself.

Before he went toward the casino, he made a brief glance at Cass before quickly looking away to go the casino. As he walked, the Courier noticed the quick glances of people. He was well-known but he could tell they are wondering what happened and what is to come. They definitely had burning questions. Is the Courier in charge? What is the current state of New Vegas? Whatever they wondered he'll address them soon enough. He will and they know that due to his good reputation. Although, the NCR would definitely smear his image as a terrorist once they had the full details about what occurred during the madness at Hoover Dam.

The Courier disappeared behind the front doors of the Tops casino. Meanwhile, at Camp McCarren, NCR soldiers observed the massive horde of securitrons that patiently waited outside of the base in a line. They were surrounded and soldiers kept their guns drawn in case of an attack by the machines. Inside the base, various soldiers and rangers that were at the Second Battle of the Hoover Dam were kept waiting in barracks, some were waiting to be debriefed about what happened. Some of them were injured, wearing bandages or arm slings. The soldiers from the dam were ordered not to share the details of the battle with anyone to avoid a panic.

The whole base was mainly quiet. The atmosphere was tense and there was uncertainty in the minds of the soldiers. Rumors and speculation were beginning to circulate around the base regarding what happened at the dam. A sense of despair was growing.

The room used originally for interrogations in the terminal building was where the debriefings occurred and it was performed by Colonel James Hsu, a high-ranking senior officer of the NCR. He largely commanded NCR operations in the Mojave Desert from Camp McCarren.

Colonel Hsu was seated at the end of the table and across from him would be a soldier that was there at the dam.

"What happened at the Hoover Dam?" Colonel Hsu would immediately ask and be met with various answers, though there was consistency in their recollections.

"There was a plane that bombed us."

"An Enclave vertibird appeared in the sky."

"There were explosions at the Legion's camp."

When asked about General Oliver, who oversaw the defense of the dam, none of the troopers could say what happened to him. Orders from him ceased all of a sudden. This left Colonel Hsu the only person officially left in charge of the NCR in the whole region.

Colonel Hsu thanked the soldiers and proceed to interview the next. He wasn't sure what to do. If the NCR had lost the dam, what now? Who are they fighting?

_The Enclave. _Colonel Hsu thought. They are the only ones known to possess aerial assets other than the NCR who had taken several from them in the past. Colonel Hsu then thought against it being the Enclave for the NCR had wiped them out at Navarro. No one has seen the Enclave in years. Perhaps it was another unknown faction that came for the dam that happened to have a vertibird. Maybe it had something to do with Mr. House. Overall, he could speculate for hours but that wasn't the time. Outside of the base waited deadly robots that threatened the life of every NCR soldier.

Colonel Hsu later left the interrogation room after a while and had another person continue the debriefings. He walked close to the derelict windows of the building which had rays of light pouring in. He peered out and observed his soldiers. They walked around with their weapons but one can see the fear in their faces. Morale has never been so low for the NCR. Then, Colonel Hsu looked up toward the direction of the securitrons.

_What are they waiting for?_ He thought. They had the remaining Mojave forces of the NCR cornered yet they weren't doing anyhting. When they showed up, he gave an order to all personnel at the base to not attack the securitrons or try to approach them.

Colonel Hsu sighed for he'll need to come up with a solution soon. The rest of the NCR back west needed to know of their predicament. They tried radioing for other NCR soldiers out in the Mojave via the emergency radio but there was nothing. They would call the rest of the NCR back west but the broadcast range of the equipment at Camp McCarren didn't reach that far. Hopefully, there silence will get some rangers sent to investigate after a few days if they had that long.

"Sir." Said an NCR soldier who walked up to Colonel Hsu, taking him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, soldier." Colonel Hsu responded. He noticed the soldier was breathing heavily.

"Major Dhatri request your presence. He's down by the tents. Should I bring him to you?"

"No thanks. I'll go see him. You should go rest, soldier."

"Yes, sir!" Said the soldier before he turned around and left.

Colonel Hsu met up with Major Dhatri outside of the terminal building and spoke with him inside a tent.

"What is it Dahtri?" Asked Colonel Hsu as soon as they entered the tent. Dhatri took a seat on a chair and sighed before answering Hsu.

"Some of the troops are getting scared. I heard word that we may not have many medical supplies here to treat all the wounded that came from the dam. Some are getting paranoid, whispering of possible traitors among the NCR that are responsible for the lost of the battle." Said Major Dhatri while he took off his beret and brushed back his long hair. He kept his beret in his hands.

"For the medical supplies, we'll ration them to those that need it the most." Responded Colonel Hsu to Major Dhatri.

"What about the growing paranoia? A bunch of people stuck in one place will surely lead to infighting eventually. People get desperate, Colonel."

"I hope it doesn't come to that. Eventually the rest of the NCR will send someone out here. Also, I think it be too soon for any insanity among our soldiers."

"I hope you are right." Responded Major Dhatri. Colonel Hsu sighed before he responded.

"The NCR faced many challenges. We'll survive this."

"Yeah." Major Dhatri got up from his seat and put on his beret. He walked toward the entrance to the tent but stopped to say one more thing to Hsu.

"I guess the bright side to all this is it is that the Legion is the least of our worries now in the Mojave." Then, Dhatri exited the tent, leaving Colonel Hsu by himself.

_We could be dealing with someone worse than the Legion. _Thought the Colonel before he exited the tent, too.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the forces of Caesar's Legion were travelling further east away from the Colorado River. Dust was kicked up as they sadly marched under the sun deeper into their territory. Occasionally, a wounded legionnarie would drop dead to the side. Fortunately, they didn't have many wounded with them to worry about. They were heading toward a Legion camp that was two miles left to go. Its overall distance from the Colorado River was around 15 miles. It depended overall on the speed one's travelling, but the remaining Legion soldiers, along with their slaves, were in no rush despite resting during the night that followed after the battle at the Hoover Dam.

Leading the group was Lucius, the old leader of the Praetorian Guard, the former bodyguards of Caesar himself, in addition to Legate Lanius. Beside him was Vulpes Inculta, the commander of the Frumentarii, the spies and infiltrators of the Legion. The two said nothing during the journey. Vulpes saw it wise not to say anything for he could see Lucius getting easily upset at him. Many in the Legion disliked Vulpes for his tactics. Also, he didn't have anything to say to the old brute.

Vulpes moved toward the side to allow those moving behind him to go forward freely. He stopped and looked back, seeing what remained of the Legion. A decent amount of warriors survived but it was still devastating.

_A dark time for the Legion. _Vulpes thought. They had no leader to officially become the new Caesar. Legate Lanius was gone which was more of a relief for Vulpes. Lanius would've likely executed him due to not needing the frumentarii for he preferred brute strength instead. No clever tactics or anything. Overall, Lanius ruling would've been a bigger nightmare. Sadly, once they get to where they going, the question of leadership will come into question. Hopefully, it will go down as smooth as possible. Vulpes certainly knew there will likely be violence.

Vulpes then felt a cool breeze pass by as he looked up at the clear, sunny sky. A single cool drop of sweat trickled down his brow.

_Mars... Please give the Legion strength._

Vulpes looked away the sky and turned back around to continue following his fellow legionnaries through the desert.

An hour later, back in the Strip, the Courier left the Tops casino and returned to the Lucky 38 with Rex. He didn't see Cass, Arcade, or Veronica when he made his way back. They likely were already back at the suite. He didn't blame them if they were still at the Ultra-Luxe. That place had the restaurant _The Gourmand_, which was alright since it was free of human meat. He went into the elevator, dropped off Rex in the suite, and went to the top floor.

The Courier slowly stepped out the elevator and looked upon the large monitor that still displayed the message, "Offline". Yes Man was still gone. The Courier looked down at the floor before looking up at the large screen. He stared at it for a few minutes before finally looking back down. He then slowly turned toward the elevator.

_See ya, Yes Man._

Before he took a step toward the elevator, the screen made a sound and was a bit brighter.

"Oh, hey there! Nice to see you again!"

The Courier quickly turned around with a smile on his face.


	3. Radio Star

A few NCR soldiers huddled over a radio in a tent at Camp McCarren. In addition, various other people through out the Mojave were also listening in. They were listening to Radio New Vegas, hosted by the allusive, charismatic Mr. New Vegas. He was about to talk about the news.

"Howdy folks. It's a beautiful day outside with a chance of news. Oh wait, it already happened.

"At Hoover Dam, the NCR and Caesar's Legion clashed with one another. Early reports indicate NCR forces were winning the fight against the Legion. But in a shocking turn of events, an army of securitrons has seized control of the Dam, preventing both sides from claiming it. The NCR are reportedly shacked up in Camp McCarren. More as the story develops. Now let's..."

Mr. New Vegas continued with his regular broadcast. Meanwhile, the Courier was with Yes Man back at the Lucky 38. He looked up at the large screen that had Yes Man's smiling face.

"It's good to be back!" Said Yes Man.

"It definitely is. I was worried you would be gone for a lot longer." Responded the Courier.

"Aww, thank you so much! It's nice to be missed."

"Yeah... Good to have you back."

"Anyway, how may I help you?" Yes Man asked excitedly.

"Well..." The Courier trailed off as he thought about a response to Yes Man's question. Then, he finally recalled what he wanted to do the most.

"I want to find a way to announce to New Vegas and the rest of the Mojave about the current state of things." Said the Courier.

"That sounds exciting! Well, the Lucky 38 has a speaker system outside but only the Strip will hear. Your best bet is to go on the air with Mr. New Vegas!" Suggested Yes Man.

"Mr. New Vegas? The host of Radio New Vegas?"

"Uh huh. His broadcasting is connected to the Lucky 38 which allows for Radio New Vegas to be heard through out the Mojave. It's perfect for your needs. Take the elevator and you'll get to the studio. It is on the 15th floor." Said Yes Man.

"Wait, Radio New Vegas is broadcasted here this whole time?"

"Yep. Mr. House had the necessary assets here. You can go down and meet Mr. New Vegas himself!"

"Alright, will do." The Courier then turned away from the large monitor toward the elevator. Then, he got inside it and it automatically took him down to the studio.

As soon as the doors opened, the Courier slowly stepped out of the elevator and observed his surroundings. It was an ordinary-looking room except there were a few cables on the floor and a computer server at the right corner ahead. To the left of the Courier was a door next to an observation window that was wide. Above the window was a lit sign that read "ON THE AIR" in red. Beneath the window was an audio workstation. The Courier stepped further into the room and looked through the window. On the other side was a large room that had the furthest wall with more computer servers that had various blinking lights. The center of the ceiling had a metal contraption with six articulated limbs that ended in microphones. Each microphone was connected to a single black wire that was tied along the limbs to a large circular platform that connected the whole thing to the ceiling. The wires were tied with black cable clamps.

Beneath the bizarre set up of microphones was a large, round wooden table with five chairs. At the center of the table was a spherical machine encased in glass that had cables connected to it. Furthermore, the room had speakers in the corners of the ceiling, and acoustic foam panels covered the walls though a few here and there had fallen off.

Suddenly, back toward the direction elevator a monitor to the right of the Courier, which he didn't originally notice, turned on, displaying Yes Man's face.

"Welcome to the Radio New Vegas studio. It's really something, huh?" Stated Yes Man.

"Where's Mr. New Vegas?" The Courier asked out of confusion. He was expecting to see someone there.

"You're pretty much looking at him. You see that thing on the table inside the sound recording room? That's him. You must be really excited to meet a celebrity in person."

"I thought he was a human."

"A lot of people think so too. In reality, he is an artificial intelligence matrix designed by Mr. House over two hundred years ago."

"Sheesh, he's really old. Why did Mr. House make him?"

"I don't know. He likely made him so the broadcast isn't just music. Your guess is just as good as mine or even better, which I know it will be." Responded Yes Man.

"If he's a creation of Mr. House, why would he have me on the air with him? I killed his creator." Asked the Courier as he crossed his arms and made a brief glance at the recording room.

"According to notes left over by Mr. House inside the memory banks, Mr. House purposely designed Mr. New Vegas to be completely neutral. It was done because Mr. House wanted to have an unbias reporter for the news segments of the broadcast."

The Courier looked at the recording room again. He wasn't sure what to think except that Mr. House was involved in a lot of things in New Vegas.

"He's pretty much like you, huh?" Said the Courier to Yes Man.

"Pretty much. Well, more like my less assertive self." Yes Man responded. The Courier then asked him another question.

"If he is an AI, then how does he receive news tips, sponsorship from the casinos, or even questions? How is he aware of the world outside?"

"Mr. New Vegas has a few ways. The sponsorships are part of the contracts Mr. House had with the families on the Strip, and involve the submission of a request form which are given to the securitrons. The latter applies to questions and tips or whatever. Radio New Vegas does have a few unofficial employees that receive caps for investigating possible news stories. They never step inside the Lucky 38 but give their findings to securitrons. Mr. New Vegas has his ways to get the scoop!" Said Yes Man with a small chuckle when he finished talking.

"That's kind of a lot to take in."

"I bet!"

"So when do I speak with Mr. New Vegas? Is he going to be a while?" Asked the Courier as he looked at the sign above the observation window stating Mr. New Vegas was live.

"Actually, he's almost about to finish in a few seconds so you'll be able to speak with him." Replied Yes Man confidently.

Then, after a couple of seconds of Yes Man finishing his response, the "ON THE AIR" sign turned off.

"There is your chance." Said Yes Man as the Courier looked away from him as he talked to the sign and the door that lead into the recording room.

The Courier sighed and walked toward the door. He opened it but it made a loud creak. The Courier slowly entered the room, observing the thing on the table that is Mr. New Vegas. Inside the room one could faintly hear the music that is being broadcasted out to the Mojave.

When the Courier approached the table, Mr. New Vegas spoke.

"Hello there. What brings you here to Radio New Vegas? I wasn't expecting any visitors." Said Mr. New Vegas. The sound of his voice was exactly as the Courier heard so many times before when he had his Pip-boy on Radio New Vegas. His voice sounded elderly and western.

"I'm here to see you. It's a pleasure to meet you." Responded the Courier to Mr. New Vegas.

"Thank you. Have a seat if you like, son." Mr. New Vegas said. The Courier complied and grabbed himself a chair at the table. Once the Courier was seated, he told Mr. New Vegas of his intentions.

"I would like to be on the air with you as a guest. I have something important to tell the people of the Mojave."

"Sounds mighty interesting, son. So what is it you have to say exactly?" Asked Mr. New Vegas with curiosity in his voice.

"New Vegas and the Mojave is its own independent nation and not a part of the NCR or Caesar's Legion."

"That's a big story. Since when did that occur?"

"When I won the Hoover Dam."

"That was you? You got moves, son. I'll give ya that. Anyway, I'll have you on the air as a guest in 5 minutes. I got a good feeling about this." Said Mr. New Vegas enthusiastically.

_That was easy._ Thought the Courier.

Meanwhile, back in the presidential suite, Veronica and Arcade drunkenly stepped out of the elevator along with Cass. She was wasn't completely drunk yet but her cheeks were slightly red. They had returned from the Strip. Immediately they were welcomed by Rex.

The trio looked around their surrounding, expecting to see the Courier somewhere. Veronica and Arcade left toward the kitchen, leaving Cass with Rex in the lobby.

Rex gave a small bark at Cass. She smiled in response before she looked away to the left of the lobby where she then noticed an inactive securitron against the wall. It's screen displayed the message "Stand by." Cass slowly approached the robot and felt nervous. Securitrons usually were not present in the presidential suite.

As Cass got closer, the screen suddenly came to life, displaying the face of Yes Man. This made Cass jump back.

"Fuck!" Yelled Cass.

"Hello!" Yes Man responded cheerfully.

Cass took a couple seconds to compose herself and spoke to Yes Man.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" She asked the smiling AI. Then, Veronica and Arcade stuck their heads out from the kitchen to see what was happening. The two looked surprised for they didn't really notice the securitron there. It was likely the alcohol they consumed when they were out in the Strip had clouded their perception. In addition, Raul and Boone came out from the recreation room to see what happened for they had the door closed.

"I'm just here to answer any questions you or the others may have." Yes Man replied to Cass. Despite Yes Man saying any question, he wasn't going to answer any questions the Courier wouldn't want him to. Since everyone present in the suite were close with the Courier, Yes Man was willing to be more lenient to them unless the Courier told him otherwise.

Cass looked around and quickly thought of the Courier.

"Where's the mailman?" Cass asked with a scowl and her arms crossed.

"He's down at Radio New Vegas on the 15th floor." Yes Man said as the other companions of the Courier approached behind Cass. Arcade then entered the conversation

"Radio New Vegas? It's here in the Lucky 38? This whole time I thought it was broadcasted somewhere else." Arcade commented.

"Yeah... Our good friend is there right now. To be honest, I came here mostly just to tell you guys that in case any of you wanted to see him. Take care." Said Yes Man before the screen briefly flickered into the normal display of a soldier like any other securitron. It simply stayed in the same spot, occasionally scanning its surroundings.

"This sounds interesting." Said Arcade as he stumbled toward the elevator. The others turned to observe him.

"Anyone want to tag along?" Arcade continued.

"Screw it, this sounds interesting." Cass responded. She then proceeded to join along side Arcade in the elevator with Rex following her.

"Wait for me!" Said Veronica she too boarded the elevator.

No one else wanted to go down and so they went on their way.

The Courier was seated at the table inside the recording room with a microphone in front of him from the mechanical contraption on the ceiling. He tapped his fingers on the table as he waited to go live before Mr. New Vegas spoke.

"We'll be live in one minute." Announced Mr. New Vegas to the Courier.

"Alright." The Courier responded as he took a deep breath and readjusted himself in his seat.

As the Courier waited patiently, he looked toward the window and quickly noticed Arcade, Cass, and Veronica on the opposite side. He waved at them.

_I have quite the audience today._ The Courier thought.

Then, Mr. New Vegas started to do a countdown.

"We'll be live in six... five... four... three... two..." Mr. New Vegas said before going completely silent. He then spoke again.

"Hello people of New Vegas and the Mojave. I hope you liked that track I played for you all. Anyway, I have a special guest with me in the studio this fine evening. He is a special somebody, but don't get me wrong for you dear listeners are also special, especially to me. My guest is the one who has received control over the Hoover Dam. Please introduce yourself, son."

"Uh, hello." The Courier said nervously into the microphone that hanged in front of him.

"Welcome to Radio New Vegas. It is good to have you here today." Mr. New Vegas said.

"Yeah, it is." The Courier replied back.

"Hm. My dear listeners, my guest has a special announcement he would like to share with all of you. Take it away, son."

"Oh, well... okay" The Courier then cleared his throat before continuing, "People of New Vegas and the Mojave, I am the Courier. Many of you may know me of the things I did in my travels. Today, I want to inform all of you that New Vegas and the Mojave Wasteland is free from the NCR, and the threat of Caesar's Legion.

"I want to tell you all that I did what I did simply because I believe we are all... born free. I believe that no one should answer to anyone as someone superior to them. Everyone has the potential to be something great. The NCR cares only for the rich and many good people serve to help the greed of such individuals. That is such a shame. The Legion... well it is obvious why I forced them out. I don't see slavery to be an option for anyone.

"Obviously, many of you noticed the securitrons everywhere. They are here to protect our new right as an independent nation and establish order against crime. To concerned NCR citizens, you are welcome here. I just don't welcome the establishment of the corrupt government of the NCR.

"I want nothing from anyone. I do not want to rule over anyone. I simply want to help and the communities I passed through in my travels know this... Yeah..."

The Courier had nothing left to say. His small speech was a stream of consciousness that reached its end. He didn't make speeches and this can be considered his first time. Deep down he hoped he did a good job. He then remembered the words of General Lee Oliver back at Legate Lanius' camp.

_"Do you know what you're doing? Making a nation..."_

The Courier looked down at the table, and he briefly pondered on Oliver's words. Although, the Courier quickly shook the memory off. Now wasn't the time for self-doubt.

_I made it this far._ He thought.

Mr. New Vegas then spoke.

"Those were some... fine words."

"Um, thank you." The Courier replied.

"Anyway, what are some of the things you did out in the wasteland? I am curious." Mr. New Vegas asked.

"Oh, well I helped the town of Goodsprings fend off the Powder Gangers at the NCR Correctional Facility. I killed a pack of deathclaws that inhabited Quarry Junction, which prevented workers from doing their job. Yeah... I helped around the Strip and in Freeside. It'll take all day to list all of the stuff I did. Also, I don't want to come off as boasting."

"Understandable. Also, I remember those incidents. Never know you had a part in them. Maybe I ought to look back. I'll likely find traces of you. Anyway, is there anything else you like to say?"

"Uh, no. I'm good." The Courier responded.

"Hm. I guess we are practically done. It has been a pleasure to have you here. Before we go, can you tell us about the fate of the NCR personnel within Camp McCarren?" Asked Mr. New Vegas.

"Wait, people are there?"

"Yeah. All forces of the NCR retreated to the base after your victory at the dam."

"Thank you for telling me. I'll go look into it."

"You're welcome. Anyway, that was my guest. I have another track for you all. We recently acquire a small selection of jazz. See ya, folks."

The Courier rose from his seat and exited the room before Mr. New Vegas could say anything. The others watched him through the window. As soon as he stepped out, the monitor next to the elevator came to life with Yes Man's face.

"Wow, that was great! You should be on the radio more!" Yes Man cheerfully complimented.

"Thanks. So the NCR is at Camp McCarren? What about the securitrons?" The Courier quickly asked.

"Don't worry. I noticed during the battle at Hoover Dam before going offline that the NCR were retreating toward the direction of Camp McCarren. Part of the security parameters I placed in some of the securitrons was to pursue and temporarily isolate their forces there. They are set to not engage them. I was just about to tell you of the situation after the broadcast. I'm sorry to see you all riled up." Yes Man explained to the Courier. Arcade, Veronica, Cass, and Rex stood quietly nearby.

"No, it's okay, Yes Man. I'm just a bit worried about the chance of violence, especially near a populated place." The Courier said before taking a deep breath.

"Well, it is best to start getting ready to go down there. I expected possible retaliation from the NCR for the Hoover Dam, which is sadly inevitable. I thought it was best to keep such an occurrence to only one area than all throughout New Vegas."

"That's very thoughtful." Said the Courier.

"Ah, thank you. I'll see down at Camp McCarren then. See ya." Said Yes Man before his face disappeared from the monitor.

The Courier turned to his companions and told them to follow him back up to the suite. Once there, the Courier entered his bedroom and dawn his riot gear and ranger helmet. He looked through his arsenal of weapons. He took three flash bang grenades, a bowie knife, a 10mm pistol, and a service rifle. The Courier hoped he didn't need to use them.

When he stepped out of his room, the Courier was met by his friends in the lobby.

"Okay. Only three among you guys are coming with me. I don't want to come off as threatening by bringing everyone with me." Said the Courier.

Rex gave a small bark.

"Of course... Make that two left." Said the Courier.

Cass and Boone stepped toward the Courier.

"I'll be going. I want to make sure nothing bad happens." Said Cass.

"Me too." Boone said blankly.

The Courier understood why they wanted to come. Both had their roots with the NCR. Boone served in its military while Cass was simply born under that nation.

"Okay. Let's go then." Said the Courier before he moved toward the elevator along with his companions.

At Camp McCarren, soldiers loudly scrambled about. Colonel Hsu exited from one of the buildings and was met by Major Dhatri who was with two soldiers outside.

"Ambassador Crocker will be staying behind?" Asked Major Dhatri with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I convinced him to stay for his safety." Colonel Hsu replied.

"Hm. Very well. Let's get going. We have a date with the devil." Major Dhatri said as he stroked his beard. He then turned to the soldiers with him and waved at them to be dismissed. Hsu and Dhatri then walked together.

All around them, the soldiers would try to observe them. The two were carrying their hopes of getting out of the base safely. Some wanted to go out to get revenge.

While they walked, a soldier approached them from behind.

"Hello, sirs" the soldier said which made Hsu and Dhatri turn, "I am ordered to accompany you two by Ambassador Crocker."

"Alright." Major Dhatri replied while Hsu remained silent.

_Crocker..._ Colonel Hsu thought. He could understand Crocker's concerns but Hsu didn't want anyone with him and Dhatri if things were to go bad. Unfortunately, he guessed he can't argue with the ambassador.

Hsu analyzed the soldier. He was young and clung to his service rifle closely. Dust was all over his uniform and he could see that his hair was disheveled under his helmet. Hsu concluded he was definitely at the Second Battle of the Hoover Dam. He was going to pay close attention to the soldier.

Finally, the three proceeded out toward the gates into the base.

The Courier with his companions later arrived and found the securitrons waiting vigilantly. One of the securitrons turned to reveal it is under the control of Yes Man, and he spotted the Courier in the distance. Yes Man quickly moved toward the Courier as he approached.

"Hi there! Good that you made it. I think the NCR have been expecting us."

"What makes you say that?"

"I see Colonel James Hsu at the gate. He is in charge of all NCR forces in the Mojave other than General Oliver. Of course, now it is just him. He most likely heard your appearance on Radio New Vegas." Answered Yes Man.

"Alright. Let's get going." The Courier said but before he took a step further he turned to his companions to tell them something.

"Have your weapons holstered. Rex... You be a good boy." He said. Rex happily wagged his tail and panted in response while Cass and Boone complied.

They followed Yes Man pass the line of idle securitrons toward Camp McCarren. Meanwhile, a soldier with binoculars informed Colonel Hsu and Major Dhatri of the Courier's approach. Likewise, the two with the soldier assigned to them went out of the base to meet with the Courier. The two sides met halfway, a few feet away from each other.

"So... It was you. We heard your little speech on the radio. What's next?" Colonel Hsu said first.

"I just want to find a peaceful solution, colonel." Replied the Courier.

"So do I." Responded Hsu. There was a brief silence before the Courier spoke.

"Okay. I don't want a fight and neither do you. Obviously, you likely have wounded inside the base from the battle at the dam. Load them up on the trucks you have and take them west. The rest of your troops will be allowed to just walk out of the base or drive if you have more vehicles to spare. Overall, I offer a safe passage out of this region."

The soldier that accompanied the two NCR commanders tighten his grip on his rifle. In his mind, he pictured the securitrons opening firing on the trucks and them violently exploding, killing the wounded. He could practically smell the charred bodies and see the scattered limbs of his comrades everywhere. Anxiety started to grow in the soldier. Then, the soldier yelled to the Courier.

"How do we know you won't kill them?!" The soldier said as traces of sweat started to trickle down his face. He was almost shaking.

"Soldier!" Said Major Dhatri to the soldier sternly. Colonel Hsu turned to Dhatri.

"It's alright, Dhatri. He makes a point." Hsu stated in the soldier's defense. He looked back at the Courier.

"If I wanted anyone killed, these securitrons would've done it already. Ask my friend Yes Man here." Said the Courier.

"It's true!" Yes Man happily declared.

"Also, I did a lot for the NCR in my travels around the Mojave." The Courier added.

"Hm. I see." Hsu said as he darted is eyes to the securitrons beyond the Courier.

The soldier with them looked on at the Courier. So much uncertainty filled his mind but he was brought back to reality when Major Dhatri spoke to Hsu.

"Your orders, sir?" Dhatri asked.

"Go back into the base and get the wounded ready for transport." Hsu commanded.

"Yes, Hsu." Dhatri replied before heading back to the base with the soldier. Hsu was left alone with the Courier and his entourage.

"I have one question I would like to ask. What happened with General Oliver?" Said Hsu without any emotion.

"He's... Well, you know how he was. He was stubborn and didn't leave me a choice. I wish it turned out different with him." The Courier replied.

"Yeah, he was too proud for his own good... I want you to know something. The NCR will not let the Mojave go so easily. I find it a shame since I hate to see more bloodshed. I'll try to talk with my superiors back home because I see that we've been here too long and lost too many good people. I would just let you have the Mojave if I had complete authority."

"Oliver said something like that. Thanks, I guess. I think we are done here, colonel. I wish you and your soldiers a safe journey back home." Said the Courier. He turned around and walked away from Hsu. Boone, Cass, and Rex immediately followed in silence.

"Take care." Yes Man said to Hsu while waving goodbye. The robot then turned to follow the Courier as well. Hsu remained standing there for a short while, watching the Courier leave.

_Good luck. You're going to need it against the Bear._ Colonel Hsu regretfully thought.

He turned around back toward the base. He saw the few soldiers that waited at the gate watching him. Hsu sighed and walked his way back to the base where soldiers quickly moved the supply trucks and the wounded from the tents.

Hsu was lost among the crowd of soldiers and the clouds of dust that were blew up by the wind.

Yes Man caught up with the Courier and gave him a compliment while they moved at the same pace.

"You did an excellent job!" Yes Man said.

"Thank you, Yes Man."

"Don't mention it. I have the securitrons set to let the NCR peacefully leave the area" Yes Man informed the Courier, "What's next?"

"Back to the Lucky 38." The Courier replied.

Cass observed the Courier while he was talking with Yes Man. She felt gladness that there was no violence but worried about the future.

_The NCR can't learn to just stay home._ She thought. She didn't particularly like how the NCR tried to continuously expand their territory. She found it foolish considering what it cost the NCR. There was so much avoidable conflict on their part. She deep down knew they'll come back to claim the Mojave.

The securitron controlled by Yes Man returned to normal and went back to join the other robots. The Courier kept moving into New Vegas with his friends.

The Courier then had a thought.

_Maybe I should check in on the Kings in Freeside._

* * *

"Come on! Load everything onto the boat! The rest of our brothers are probably back home by now!" Yelled a Legion centurion to his soldiers.

The remaining forces of the Legion in the Mojave were at Cottonwood Cove. They were preparing boats to travel across the Colorado River back east. When they arrived to encampment, it was empty except for the burnt pile of corpses the Legion stacked when the Courier came by long ago. The pile was mostly skeletons that would occasionally be picked at by passing birds.

Another team of legionaries arrived to the camp. There was six of them and their role was to scout the region. Among the approaching group of soldiers was a young man name Cassius. He had an angry expression on his face.

One of the centurions near the dock turned to see the arrival of the group and he approached them.

"Ave." The centurion said. He looked at the tired legionaries and noticed the absence of their decanus. He didn't care that there were four missing warriors from the usual group of ten.

"Where is you decanus?" The centurion questioned.

"Don't know. Doesn't answer raven calls." Said one of the soldiers in the group.

Then they heard a loud buzzing sound in the distance that was getting closer. The legionaries turned for they recognized the sound. It was that of a cazador, a great bane of the Mojave, especially for the Legion other than deathclaws.

They saw a legionary moving down the road with two young cazadors. They rapidly flapped their yellow wings to quickly deliver stabs with their stingers to the legionary. Cassius squinted and recognized the legionary: it was their decanus. Pain was visible in his facial expression for he was red. The venom of young cazadors usually aren't extremely poisonous until they reach maturity so they would be easy to dispatch. What made it better was that it was only two instances. Young cazadors often travelled in a swarm.

Everyone nearby drew their weapons, and they watched the decanus trip, falling face first into the ground. The legionaries approached to engage the dangerous insects as they swarmed around the decanus, repeatedly stabbing him. He screamed continuously in agony with every sting. He felt the venom painfully travel across his body. Sweat quickly poured off his red face along with a stream of tears.

Cassius was stuck in place. He didn't have any fight in him to join his brothers in slaying the creatures. What happened at the Hoover Dam crushed a large piece of him. Cassius simply watched on with tired eyes as his brothers passed him. For a brief moment, the world felt like it moved slowly for Cassius for he was deep in thought while he observed the brutal cazadors.

He saw the cazadors as the arms of the Courier relentless stabbing away at soldiers of the Legion. Splatters of blood covered Cassius' image of the Courier. Cassius saw the Courier's trench coat being blown by the wind as he stood on a large puddle of blood. Then, the Courier looking directly at him through his visors which glowed brightly orange.

Cassius returned to reality when one of the scouts in his team placed a hand on his left shoulder from behind.

"Cassius, don't just stand there." They said before moving to Cassius' side and heading toward the fight with the cazadors. The creatures have left the decanus alone for he was finally dead.

A legionary had a flamer while another had a revolver. They attacked the cazadors first. The insects erratically flew around in the air on fire while the legionary with the revolver fired his weapon. Other legionaries that had guns started to shoot too. One of the cazadors had its right wings shot off while it burned. It made a low pitch screech as it was repeatedly shot.

The other cazador flew toward the legionary with the revolver, crashing into him. The legionary was engulfed by the flames of the cazador and was getting stung while he tried to get the creature off of him. The other cazador crawled toward the other legionaries. The centurion that approached Cassius' group charged at the creature with a spear and stabbed it in the head. The centurion twisted the spear and moved it until the flaming cazador stopped moving, finally dying.

The legionary with the flamer stood nearby the other cazador as it attacked his comrade. He had the flamer aimed and ready but he hesitated. He didn't want to kill the other in the process. Fortunately, he didn't have to for the centurion rushed passed him and stabbed the cazador with the spear through its back. The cazador then came off the legionary and died on the side to continuing burning. The centurion watched as it legs coiled up before looking at the legionary who was screaming for help to put out the fire. The centurion drew his machete he had holstered to his side and struck the burning legionary at the base of the neck when he managed to stand up. The pleas of the legionary quickly disappeared as his flaming body fell to the floor.

The centurion killed him due to him going to be a burden on their journey back east, and he likely would've died from his burns since they had nothing to treat them. Also, if he even did survive he would be of no further use to the Legion.

"Everyone, go back and continue loading up!" The centurion yelled out while he holstered his machete.

Cassius sighed and turned around to walk toward the mess hall building. Next, he heard one of his fellow legionaries shout about someone approaching the camp.

Cassius turned and saw the approaching figure in the distance. He squinted and recognized whoever it was as they got closer.

It was a legionary named Albius that is a part of Cassius' group. To Cassius, he was best described as a sort of mentor. It was the closest thing one could have as a friend when serving in the Legion. He slowly marched into Cottonwood Cove and the centurion from earlier patiently observed him, intending to confront him.

The Legion waited back home.


	4. Rest At Cottonwood Cove

Albius slowly walked up to the centurion that stood waiting for him. He was tired from fending off a swarm of young cazadors. He was dragging a spear behind him, which was covered in the greenish blood of the swarm. He also had some of their blood on his armor.

Albius was stung a couple of times on his left side by one of the cazadors. A wave of pain occasionally emanated from the site of the stings.

Albius stopped a few steps away from the centurion.

"Ave." Albius said without any emotion to the centurion. He was breathing heavily which he tried to control.

"Ave. What happened?" Asked the centurion.

"Myself, my decanus, and three others were going to regroup with the rest of our scouting party to come here. We stumbled upon a cazador nesting ground and tried going around it. A small swarm ambushed us even though we made a good amount of distance away from the nests. The other three had fallen as they fought along side me while our decanus fled. I managed to kill off the remaining swarm and administer antivenom. Then I followed my decanus here." Albius said to the centurion.

"You fought off cazadors by yourself? Hmph. I declare you as the decanus of your group. You earned it. Now go rest." The centurion said with a smile. He then turned around and walked back near the dock of Cottonwood Cove to be with the other two centurions present.

Albius walked further toward the camp where a legionary handed him a medical kit as he passed by. He took it without looking at the legionary, and in the process he felt his side ache again.

Next, Albius walked to the storage building to sit against the wall. Once there, he opened up the kit and it only had bandages along with healing powder. He quickly applied a couple of bandages covered with the powder to the area where he was stung, and when he finished he just sat there, laying against the wall. He closed his eyes for a brief moment where he started to relive a piece of an old memory from a time long gone.

He heard the sounds of people going on about their lives along with children laughing as they played. The wind blew through near leafless trees and he could also hear brahmin as they wandered. The memory ended when he opened his eyes. Albius sighed and continued resting. Now really wasn't the time to remember.

While Albius rested peacefully, Cassius approached him. He was older than Cassius by a few years and often spoke to him. Albius met him when Cassius was assigned to their scouting team and their decanus had paired them. Albius had to get Cassius familiar with the routines of being a scout. All that was five years ago.

"Albius…" Said Cassius as he stood in front of Albius. Albius was briefly silent before he responded to Cassius' presence.

"Sit down." Albius replied without looking at Cassius.

Cassius sat near Albius against the wall. The two briefly said nothing for Albius was watching the other legionaries at the dock already moving a raft across the Colorado River. Then Cassius finally spoke.

"I can't believe we lost." Cassius lamented.

Albius did not reply immediately to Cassius. Instead, he continued to observed the other legionaries in silence before he made a response.

"Hm. That's war." Replied Albius with indifference. He then looked up toward the sky and there were only a couple of clouds present.

"Aren't you worried what this means for the Legion?" Asked Cassius with a concern expression on his face. Albius then turned his head to look at Cassius.

"No." He said blankly to Cassius. Albius' response left Cassius shocked.

"We are without a legate or Caesar himself, Albius. The Legion's fate is uncertain! How can you say you are not worried?" Cassius responded. Before he responded, Cassius sighed.

"The Legion survived the campaign on Denver and there are many candidates for leadership. The Legion will sort itself out." Albius replied without any enthusiasm, sounding more contemptuous toward the idea. Cassius gave no immediate response for he wasn't sure what to say back, and he also didn't pick up on Albius' tone.

Albius looked again at the sky and noticed one of the two clouds were closer. He hoped maybe it would get close enough to provide shade to him.

Finally, Cassius gave a response to Albius.

"Fighting among us may be... inevitable. I don't want it to come to that..." Cassius lamented. He simply stayed silent while Albius winced in pain from the cazador stings.

"Why? We both seen decani and centurions beat each other to death to earn a higher rank. It isn't new." Replied Albius.

"Caesar was chosen by Mars himself to lead the Legion, Albius!" Cassius vehemently said back but he quickly lowered his voice when Albius pointed at the other legionaries. Luckily no one heard Cassius for they were too busy. Before Albius spoke back to Cassius he sighed.

"Think of it like this: Mars will choose another person. Surely he wouldn't leave what his son left behind to crumble." Albius said.

Cassius contemplated on Albius' statement. He thought that maybe he was right but he still felt uncertain. Albius didn't believe what he said. He never bought into the idea Caesar was the son of Mars or the whole religion. He knew better then most in the Legion.

Cassius then looked off at the sky and stared at it for a few seconds before he spoke.

"I wish I was at the battle for the dam. I probably wouldn't make a difference but at least I... I could..." Cassius then thought of the Courier when he watched him travel through Boulder City. Cassius was starting to feel a small bit of rage growing inside him again. He balled his hands into fists which Albius noticed.

"What else troubles you?" Albius asked Cassius.

"Ever hated someone so much that deserved to die? Like a person that is worse than any degenerate our Legion had crucified? Except crucifying them is too kind? I wish I was at the dam so I could fight the profligate responsible for the Legion's pain..."

"The Courier... He took the dam?" Albius replied quietly to Cassius.

"Yes. He had an army of machines. He slain our brothers and drove the NCR out. He deserves pain unlike any other. Perhaps something like Caesar did to the Burned Man though that may not be right. For killing Caesar, there must be something more special. What I would give to avenge Caesar." Said Cassius. Albius then moved himself to have his body completely face Cassius. He cross his legs and was no longer leaning against the wall. Then, Albius finally replied.

"Hold on to that anger," Albius began "It'll give you strength. If you desire revenge, perhaps you will one day see it."

Cassius then imagined himself standing before the Courier with only a dagger. The Courier just silently stood there, observing Cassius behind the visors of his ranger helmet. Their surroundings were fire and scattered clouds of smoke and dust. The sky was blocked out. Then, Cassius imagined running toward the Courier but his fantasy was interrupted by Albius.

"You should go join the others. We should focus on getting back home across this river. I'll be at the dock in a few minutes. The pain from my stings are not bothering me as much."

"Oh. Uh, yeah." Cassius took a deep breath and got up. Before he could take a step, Albius said something else.

"Don't forget my advice... It could be useful in the future." Stated Albius while he stared off at the other side of the Colorado River before looking at Cassius again. Cassius then walked away in silence, leaving Albius alone with his thoughts.

_That boy... If only he learned there is more to life than the Legion. At least he may actually be useful to me._

Albius then turned his thoughts toward the Hoover Dam. A small smile formed on his face.

_So the Courier was victorious... Finally, someone powerful enough to absolutely destroy the Legion. The Legion is crippled now but it is likely to heal. It must die. I can use this situation. _Thought Albius. He then got up from the ground but groaned in pain for his side ached a bit.

Albius then walked away from the wall toward the dock by a couple of steps before stopping. He silently observed the river as it slowly flowed south. He quickly was developing many ideas and a piece of him started to feel extremely confident. A plan was brewing inside his mind. He then stopped looking at the river and moved on.

At the dock, a legionary on a small boat was preparing to take the last of the supplies from Cottonwood Cove across the river. Meanwhile, the other boats were returning from the other side to pick up the legionaries to take them home.

The three centurions present yelled for all their warriors that were resting to get to the dock. Everyone was quickly heading to the dock, lining themselves up. Albius and Cassius joined up with the rest of their scouting team. They all boarded the boats in small groups and ferried back and forth.

Cassius while on the dock waiting for a boat to come back to take him and some of his group across turned around to have one last look at Cottonwood Cove. Next, he boarded the boats when they arrived, following the lead of Albius since he was the new decanus of the group. Soon they would be back home. Cassius felt eager for what waited there but he hoped things will not be so bad.


	5. Small Trouble In Freeside

The remaining NCR forces at Camp McCarren marched out of the base along side trucks loaded with injured troops. The securitrons that waited outside moved out of their way and silently observed the soldiers leave.

Among the soldiers in the trucks was Colonel Cassandra Moore. She was in charge of the troops stationed at Hoover Dam but since the fight Colonel Hsu has taken full command of her soldiers so she could rest.

She was on a stretcher for she was injured in the battle for the dam. A bullet struck her arm and shoulder so she wore a sling and some bandages. Fortunately, it wasn't an injury that would make her any slower like she had when she was a ranger before her current rank. When she was a ranger, she received an injury that made her inadequate for being deployed into the battlefield but she was a great leader. Overall, she was no doubt going to get back up once she was fully recovered.

Cassandra raised her head up as the truck moved away from Camp McCarren. She gotten a glimpse of the securitrons that pushed her men out of the dam. She tried to raise her body up but this caused her slight pain. She laid back down again.

_God damn tin cans. They had to ruin the show at the dam. We were really giving it to the Legion. God, if I wasn't messed up I would've like to destroy some of them._

A medic noticed her movements while they were dealing with another troop who's forearm was torn apart from the strikes of a legionary wielding a machete. The medic came to Cassandra but she didn't acknowledge his presence. She was too deep in thought.

_Can't wait to lead a counter-attack. This new threat must be crushed like the Legion. I need to get back in action soon._

The trucks found themselves on the path towards west with soldiers marching along side. Most of the soldiers were relieved they were able to live to see another day and were going to see home again.

Meanwhile, the Courier with his friends entered Freeside. Securitrons were at every corner in the area. The locals kept their distance from the machines whenever they wandered by. The group walked through Freeside until they were outside of the Old Mormon Fort, the headquarters of the Followers of the Apocalypse. On the street, there laid a dead body of a Freeside thug whose corpse was being picked at by a crow before it flew off after Rex barked at it. To the left of the Courier was two securitrons who cornered a man armed with a bloodied straight razor against a brick wall of the many derelict buildings. The man stood next to the dead body of a bearded man whose corpse was slouched against the wall. The man had his throat slit along with various cuts on other parts of his body. The Courier and his companions silently observed the scene.

"You are under arrest, citizen. Please drop your weapon and follow us for criminal processing." One of the securitrons said to the man.

"C'mon fellas, I dun nothin wrong. He was like that already. I found him like dis! I just wanted to shave his head." Said the quickly man before he twitched, "Honest!"

The Courier quickly deduced the man was likely high on chems, probably jet.

"Please do not resist, citizen, or lethal force will be utilized. Drop your weapon and have your hands up." The securitron replied.

"Uh, fuck it. Go to hell, you TV freaks!" The man yelled before he rushed at the securitrons but before he could get close he was quickly disintegrated into a pile of ash. The two robots immediately dispersed.

While the Courier observed the incident, a securitron controlled by Yes Man approached him.

"Hello!" Yes Man exclaimed.

"Hi, Yes Man. Is there anything happening?"

"A matter of fact, yes. I came to tell you that there is a bit of a problem. There's an abandoned store where a group of Freeside troublemakers barricaded themselves. I was going to allow the securitrons to use their missiles and grenade launchers to convince them to leave the store, but Julie Farkas demanded I don't. Something about Freeside residents getting hurt in the crossfire even though I explained to her that our securitrons are most efficient. Knowing you, I am sure you wouldn't want any problems with the Followers so I complied with her demands not because she told me to. Oh, she also wants to see you." Yes Man stated.

"Thank you. I'll take care of it, Yes Man."

"Awesome. I'll mark the location of the troublemakers on your pip-boy before you go see Julie. Take care!" Yes Man said as he quickly transmitted the coordinates to the pip-boy before he exited the body of the securitron, allowing it to return to its normal routine.

"Let's go, guys." The Courier said before releasing a sigh. He couldn't believe he almost forgot about the Followers. Gannon told him about the situation back in the Lucky 38.

Meanwhile, a man in combat armor inside one of the many ruined buildings assembled a sniper rifle on the floor. He took out the pieces of it from a small case he carried. It was somewhat light to carry since the parts of the rifle were made of carbon fibers than the standard material. It was a modification he personally made for his profession which took him to many places. Finally, he inserted the clip into the gun. It was ready to kill.

Back to the Courier, he moved down the street near the entrance into the Old Mormon Fort. The large doors were slightly opened, allowing for one to peer inside. The Followers were more busy than usual, moving from tent to tent treating more patients than usual. Makeshift beds were set up under shade stands outside of the tents.

The Courier then caught sight of Julie Farkas, who saw him as well. She was talking to a patient on the bed who was stabbed in the stomach. Julie left the patient and headed straight for the Courier who also walked toward her. The Courier's companions stayed close behind. As soon Julie was close enough for the Courier to hear, she spoke.

"I been meaning to speak with you. Things haven't exactly been great for the Followers here in Freeside."

"Yes, you are low on medical supplies. Arcade Gannon told me about it earlier. What happened?" Asked the Courier.

"Freeside criminals attacked anyone deemed NCR citizens. Locals were hurt along side them. Although, the most current issue is that a few Freeside residents are barricaded inside a building and your securitrons wanting to blow them out of there. Them using missiles doesn't help us rebuild Freeside. The people inside are chem addicts trying to feed their habit, and from what I know they are extremely paranoid from the mixing of drugs. I'd like you to calm them out."

"I apologize for the trouble. I'll handle it."

"Good. Please see me when it is resolved." Julie ordered while she turned around to go back to treating patients. The Courier briefly stood there and sighed before proceeding to where the abandoned store was.

While the Courier and his companions navigated through Freeside, the man with the sniper rifle looked at a sheet of paper as he leaned back against a wall with his rifle beside him. He looked at the top half which displayed "Private Contract". Under those words were the statement of a bounty being worth 6,000 caps.

The rest of the paper went at length with various details of the Courier and recommended course of actions in killing them. The man was an assassin and a personal contact provided him an anonymous client that wanted the Courier dead. Apparently there are other assassins interested but luckily he was closer to New Vegas. That bounty was his and it be enough for him to start fresh. It was also great that the bounty didn't require any personal possession of the Courier since it was stated in the contract that word would spread.

The Courier arrived outside of the abandoned building. Four securitrons waited on the street while be watched by a few Freeside locals from a distance.

The Courier turned to his companions and ordered for Boone to wait outside while he entered the building with Rex and Cass. The Courier and Cass kept their weapons holstered to avoid any provocation.

They slowly entered the building by cracking the door open, allowing one person at a time to squeeze through. The interior of the building was a mess like any other building one may find anywhere in the Wasteland. There were empty shelves and layers of dust from all the years of neglect.

As soon as the Courier entered, two addicts came out from behind the store shelves and one came out from the counter. They were armed with knives.

The most noticeable thing was that they wore explosive collars and they were visibly frighten. The one behind the counter spoke.

"Sorry, man. We got to kill ya before we explode. Nothin' personal. We don't wanna die and need a fix." The man said while his hands shook with the knife he had pointed at the Courier.

"Wait, I want to help you guys. I can disarm those collars if you let me. No one has to get hurt." The Courier quickly replied.

"Don't know..." The addict responded with more distress in his voice.

"Please tell me what happened?" The Courier proceeded to ask. Rex was closely next to him and gave out a low growl. Cass was feeling slightly tensed and was focused on the men, ready to defend herself if things went bad.

"Some guy, man. He got us when we were sleeping after he gave us some chems. Something was in the stuff because it knocked us out. Woke up with dis on. Guy told us to do what he said or we die. If we kill you he give us some more chems but better. Can you help?" The addict desperately asked the Courier.

"I will but I'd like everyone to put those knives away. I'll disarm the collars."

"Okay, man. Better not mess up."

The addict at the counter gently placed the knife on the counter and slowly approached the Courier.

In the meantime, the assassin with the sniper rifle burned his private contract with a lighter to avoid it being discovered if he failed the job. As he observed the flames consume the paper up to the tips of his fingers that held it, he looked out the partially boarded windows and quickly noticed there were other people near the abandoned shop. He saw when the securitrons arrived but he didn't recognize the figure of Boone.

The assassin dropped the paper which it then completely turned into ash in midair. He grabbed his rifle and looked down the scope of the rifle to get a closer look. He observed Boone and quickly recognized him from a list of accomplices the Courier had. The beret Boone wore gave him away.

The sniper quickly deduced that the Courier was nearby which was convenient for him. He didn't need to look around all day.

The sniper silently watched through the scope, patiently awaiting the Courier to exit from wherever he was.

Back to the Courier, the addict nervously stood, facing away from the Courier while he looked at the collar. He was sweating profusely from the anticipation of the collar going off. The device had a blinking red light that seemed to taunt everyone present.

The Courier had opened a small panel and was looking at a complex set of wires that were colored blue, green, and red. He was thinking heavily of which wire handled the receiver which usually triggered the explosive. If there was time, an alternative would've been to find whoever put the collars on the addicts and take the remote control. It was also riskier since the perpetrator could be observing from a distance and detonate the explosives.

Cass watched on, hoping the Courier knew what he was doing.

_Better not get us killed. _She thought.

The Courier took a deep breath and made a decision. He tore out the blue wire and the collar popped open, falling to the floor.

Everyone was briefly still before they all gave out a sigh of relief, except for Rex who gave a cheerful bark instead.

Although, the light on the collar still blinked, suggesting it could still explode. The Courier gently picked up the device as the addict he took it off of scrambled to a corner of the store to get away from the collar. The collar was then placed behind the counter inside an empty safe, which most stores luckily had.

The Courier gestured to the other addicts to come to him. He took their collars off each at a time and again placed them into the safe.

The addicts expressed their gratitude.

"Thanks, man! I tought I was a goner." One of them said.

"You're welcome. Also, please head to the Old Mormon Fort for your addictions. It's how you guys got into this situation." The Courier told the addicts.

"Definitely will. Thanks!"

The three men quickly moved the things that partially blocked the door leading outside so they could leave. The Courier, Cass, and Rex followed behind them into the street. The addicts quickly ran their way to the Followers.

The sniper continued to observe the street and spotted the Courier. A smile formed on his face. He lined the scope on the Courier and held his breath. The assassin aimed for the Courier's head carefully for he was moving on the street, approaching Boone. When the Courier came to a stop, the sniper moved his finger to the trigger. Unfortunately, when he made his shot, the shoulder of a securitron had gotten in way. The bullet ricocheted into the ground.

_Fucking unbelievable! _The assassin thought. He proceeded to rapidly fire at the Courier who was already seeking shelter behind a bus stop along with Cass. Rex went behind a ruined car. Boone looked down his scope and aimed at the direction of the shots. Boone managed to see the blast from a window on the second floor of a three story building down the street. Without hesitation, Boone fired back. He missed two shots but one bullet managed to hit the sniper's right side, at the stomach.

The sniper stumbled away from the window and grunted in pain. He quickly moved toward the staircase which was wise since at that moment a missile shot at the window, exploding the front of the building. One of the securitrons had fired it while many securitrons nearby surrounded the building.

"Hey! No missiles!" The Courier shouted to his machines from behind cover.

The sniper had fallen down the stairs when the missile made its impact, and he was on the floor. His ears were ringing and he was in extreme pain. He was covered in bits of debris. He had also dropped his rifle which was next to him. He tried to reach for his rifle but his back shot out an intense wave of pain, indicating it was broken.

The securitrons stopped outside the building and remained idle. The Courier with his companions were running toward the building.

The sniper managed to grab his rifle and cocked it. He aimed the barrel to his head. He was compromised and wasn't going to let himself get captured. There was no escape, not with his injury. He hesitated to pull the trigger but he mustered the courage. He was a dead man walking anyway.

Just as the Courier and Boone kicked in the door, the assassin shot himself, leaving no information for his target. The Courier and his friends looked for any clues about the man but it was futile. They all were back out into the street and the securitrons returned to their positions.

_Who the hell was that?_ The Courier thought.

Then, down the street, a man dressed like the typical Freeside local crossed the street while smoking a cigarette. They had a dirtied rancher hat on and made inconspicuous glances at the Courier and his friends.

_I guess it is best to do things myself. I almost lost the bounty to another. _The man thought. Next, he proceeded to leave the area before he detonated the explosive collars since they were of no use anymore. He wasn't going to bother retrieving them, and he had another plan to take the Courier's life. The man went to his safehouse to prepare.

The Courier's job was finished and so he was set on heading his way back to the fort with his companions. Once they got there, they found Julie Farkas near the entrance.

"Hello, Julie. I'm back." The Courier announced to Julie who stood with her arms crossed.

"Thank you for not spilling any blood but what was with the explosion?" Julie asked.

"A securitron shot a missile at a sniper who was shooting from a second story window. No one got hurt."

"Very well... Now let's get to other matters. As mentioned earlier, we don't have much supplies to provide the amount of patients that we have. We likely have a few days before we run out, that's if we are lucky."

"I will look into trading with caravans as a solution or maybe..." The Courier pondered on the rest of their options until Yes Man took control of a nearby securitron and approached from behind.

"Excuse me but I would like to make a suggestion!" Exclaimed Yes Man while he raised a hand into the air.

"Oh. Well, go ahead Yes Man."

"I can have a few securitrons set to roam about the Mojave to find medical supplies to junk that can be used to _make_ medical supplies. Due to their upgrade systems, it be really easy!" Yes Man happily informed the Courier.

"That sound's really helpful." The Courier said as he turned to look at Julie to hear her response.

"It would be helpful in buying us lots of time but there can only be so much to salvage out in the wastes. We need a long-term solution. I'll take it for now and await for you to deliver up on a steady supply line." Julie said.

"Awesome! I'll have several set to roam with that in mind." Replied Yes Man happily.

"See you soon, Courier." Said Julie before she turned around and went back to helping her fellow members care for the wounded. The Courier turned toward Yes Man.

"This is exciting! Hooray for progress! Also, this may sound like a random thought but does Julie's hairstyle look off or is it just me?" Yes Man said which made Cass crack a smile and the Courier feel awkard. Boone maintained his composure but he did share a similar sentiment to Yes Man.

"That's not relevant, Yes Man. Thank you for your continued help. I'll see you later." The Courier responded as he looked around. Yes Man's question threw him off but he did agree that Julie's two untouched strands of hair at the front sides of her face look weird with a mohawk. Still, the Courier tired not to judge since people have their own ways of expressing themselves.

"Bye!" Yes Man said before he left the body of the securitron which returned to work. The Courier looked at his friends and spoke to them.

"Let's get going, guys. We got the Kings to see." The Courier said which lead to Rex panting with excitement who was previously owned by the leader of the Kings, named simply as The King.

They continued to head to the King's School of Impersonation. Meanwhile, the assassin responsible for the collared addicts was inside one of the old derelict buildings of Freeside, changing his ragged clothes for a Pre-war business suit. He equipped himself with a couple of stealth boys, a frag grenade, a silenced .22 pistol, and his trusty combat knife. He'll find the best time to strike when the Courier is most vulnerable.

Soon, the Courier stood outside the headquarters of the Kings. A few members of the gang relaxed outside, talking to a securitron for laughs. Although, as soon as they saw the Courier, they placed all of their attention toward him.

"Welcome!" They would say in their typical, greaser-style fashion.

The Courier, along with his companions, entered the building. The King had been expecting him.


	6. The Assassin

The Courier and his companions stood within the King's School of Impersonation where they were greeted by members of the Kings. They proceed to the stage room where the King was most of the time, sitting alone at a table, watching a fellow member perform a pre-War song.

As soon as Rex saw the King at his usual spot, he rushed passed the Courier while panting happily. The King turned around and smile when he saw Rex who then barked.

"Hello, boy. How you been?" The King greeted Rex with a smile and a pat on the head. The King then looked up at the Courier and welcomed him.

"Hello to you to, bud. Please have a seat, especially your friends." The King said as he gestured at the chairs surrounding the table.

The Courier, Boone, and Cass took the King's on his offer and took a seat at the table. The Courier took of his ranger helmet and placed it on the table.

"How have you been?" The Courier asked The King.

"Quite well. Usually we the Kings kept the order in Freeside but your fancy securitrons really lighten our load. We mostly focus on our control on the water pump now. Me and the boys would like to celebrate with you in honor for all you have done." Said the King with a smile to the Courier as the ceiling lights above shined off the gel in the King's hair.

"Thank you. I appreciate the gesture but-" The Courier managed to say before the King called for one of his followers to deliver beverages to the table.

"Any drinks?" The King asked the Courier and his friends.

"No thanks." Boone replied.

"I already have whiskey on me, but I'm likely low. I'll take a bottle." Cass Responded.

The King then looked at the Courier for his response.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you." Said the Courier.

"Very well. Anyway, what were you saying?" Continued the King as he leaned forward in his chair.

"I don't think I'll be available to celebrate with today. Perhaps another day." The Courier sadly replied.

"That's rather unfortunate. How come?"

"I need to make sure there isn't any cleaning up I may need to do."

"I understand. Being the man to deliver independence comes with a lot of responsibility. Still, we Kings will keep our glasses ready to toast in your honor." Said the King as drinks were delivered to the table by a King member.

Cass received her bottle of whiskey while the King had gotten beer. The server then quickly left as soon as he was not needed anymore. The King then took a small drink so his beer would last long.

The Courier then continued the conversation with a question to the King.

"Hey, how would The Kings like to help me run the Lucky 38 casino?"

The King raised an eyebrow curiously and a smile quickly formed on his face. Never had he been given such a large offer before. Boone and Cass looked at the Courier with surprise, even Rex who tilted his head at the Courier.

"You really give us a place on the Strip? Oh my, I don't know what to say. I'm sure my boys would love that!"

"Also, I want to better equip you guys. Pistols and knives are great but something like a laser pistol can do you guys wonders! The caps that will pour in from the casino will cover the cost for whatever you need."

The King sat back in his chair. He was unsure of what to say. Other King members nearby whispered to each other in excitement. The Kings were already respected by those living in Freeside but now their reach can go into the Strip itself. The Courier then continued to speak.

"Speaking of weapons, if memory serves me right, I think there is a locked crate of energy weapons at the Silver Rush casino where the Van Graffs were. I didn't loot everything in there so there could be more stuff. That's if no local went inside to salvage anything." Said the Courier as he then placed his hands together on the table.

The King briefly pondered on the Courier's words. The Van Graffs had killed a few members of the Kings when they arrived into Freeside, and their weapons made them untouchable despite the Kings wanting them gone. Better weapons would indeed make them have a better chance in combat.

"No one been inside the building. Most folks are too scared of taking anything in case the Van Graffs come to get their merchandise back. I'll send some of my boys over there. Oh my, I can't thank you enough." The King said.

"No need to thank me." The Courier said with sincere humility.

Cass silently observed the Courier and remembered what happened at the Silver Rush. The Van Graffs had hoped to finish her off after realizing they didn't kill her along with her caravan. She remembered being surrounded alongside the Courier and ED-E by the thugs of the Van Graff half-siblings, Gloria and Jean-Baptiste Cutting. Jean-Baptiste was eager to execute Cass into a pile of ash, but it was him that perished when the Courier shot him in the face with a shotgun. They then fought off the rest of the Van Graffs within the small confines of the Silver Rush. In the middle of the shootout, the Courier threw a couple frag grenades which successfully killed some thugs and crippled Gloria. ED-E successfully vaporized a couple more hostiles, soon leaving Gloria and one thug left. They were gunned down with ease.

The Silver Rush was a mess of corpses and limbs strewn about. Some walls were marked by laser burns. Cass could vividly remember the bodies of Gloria and Jean-Baptiste.

Cass really did owe it to the Courier for helping her avenge her caravan. She lost everything just because the Van Graffs and the Crimson Caravan Company, who were also involved, wanted a monopoly in the Mojave. He didn't have to help her get revenge but the Courier chose to.

As Cass continued to look at the Courier, she started to remember that time she subtly flirted with him while they were out in the desert. She did found him attractive but played hard to get. She felt it be more fun do that since the Courier was the type to take on challenges. He didn't make advances but perhaps that was due to being busy taking over the Mojave to establish independence. Maybe he really did took her words seriously when he caught her flirting remark. She had said that nothing would likely happen between them while still complimenting him. Cass admittedly didn't think things through sometimes and somewhat regretted her words.

Cass then stopped thinking and focused on the present time. The Courier and the King continued to talk.

"Yeah, one of these days come by the Lucky 38 so we can see how we can get the casino up and running again. I'll like to show you around." Said the Courier.

"I'd love that. I always wondered what the inside of that building was like." The King said as he drunk his beer.

"It's quite nice." Replied the Courier.

"I bet! Oh mama, my boys are going to have a hell of a time. That is also another reason for us to celebrate in your honor."

The Courier deliberated on maybe having fun with the Kings. He had Yes Man who could help out a lot. The Courier then sighed.

"I guess we can in a couple days. I'd like to make sure thins are smooth and rest." Conceded the Courier.

"That's fantastic!" The King replied with a large smile before taking another drink. Rex then gave a cheerful bark at the sight of the King's delight.

"Yeah. Well, I think we should be going. I look forward to working closely with the Kings. I want to do so much for New Vegas, and that includes Freeside. Things had been difficult according to the Followers but maybe we can get everything into shape."

"You already have, my friend. I also look forward to us. Congratulations on delivering independence for us all. Everyone has the right to be their own king." Happily replied the King as he rose from his seat along with the Courier. The Courier also picked up his helmet from the table and putted it back on. The two then shook each other hands but as they did the King continued to talk.

"See ya, my friend. I can't wait to party with you soon. You deserve it."

The Courier only smiled at the King. Meanwhile, Boone and Cass rose from the table. Rex got off the floor and panted happily, excited to continue accompanying the Courier.

"See ya later too, Rex." The King said to the happy cybernetic dog.

The Courier with his companions then headed toward the exits, and as they did other members of the Kings wished them farewell. They talked among themselves.

"Man, I can't wait to see the Lucky 38!"

"I hope to play poker without fear of the house cheating!"

"Can't wait to get lots of caps for Gomorrah!"

The Courier then left the building with his friends. Back in the stage room, the King still stood, lost in thought. The King that sung on the stage stopped to observe the King. Others nearby also joined in watching the King from the other room.

_Incredible. That guy is a godsend. The Kings' very own casino... So cool._

The King turned to see the watchful gaze of his eager followers present in the room. The King then gestured at one of the members to come to him.

"Get a few of us down to the Silver Rush and bring whatever you can find. Thank you."

"Ya got it!" Happily replied the King member who went to assemble a small party for the Silver Rush casino.

Next, the King grabbed his half empty bottle of beer and headed to his room where a couple of female groupies waited for him. I guess he could have time to have his own personal, private celebration. As he travelled to his room down the corridors of the building, the King passed by the empty room once belonging to Pacer, his former childhood friend and right hand man.

The King stopped and looked back at the door that lead into Pacer's room.

_Dammit, Pacer. If only you could have seen things more rationally._

Pacer's death was avoidable if he worked with the NCR to stop harassing citizens and spreading false rumors. Pacer also instigated the Van Graffs and had a drug problem. Overall, he was trouble but the King ignored those issues out of respect. If only the King didn't for perhaps Pacer would be alive still.

The King sighed and continued on to his room. At least the Kings would be going to high places in the future. That helped to comfort the King.

Meanwhile, the Courier and his companions walked down the streets of Freeside toward the gate leading into the Strip. Securitrons patiently stood guard at several street corners.

While the Courier walked, he pondered on the incident from earlier involving the explosive collars and the sniper. He was somewhat stumped.

_Who the hell is going around to have me get lured into a trap? I dealt with any possible enemy in Freeside and around New Vegas. I don't need to worry of any problems from the NCR or Caesar's Legion for a while. Was it just someone with a personal vendetta? No, maybe a paid mercenary. Most wouldn't wear combat armor and walk around with a sniper rifle... Whatever the hell, I'll worry about it some other time. With the assassins the Legon had sent in the past, I am used to being randomly ambushed._

As the Courier contemplated, Cass, who followed behind him near Boone, was also thinking.

_The Kings running the casino at the Lucky 38, huh? I guess it'll make the place feel more lively instead of feeling more like Mr. House's pre-War tomb. Although, those Kings can be annoying, especially with their stupid cat calls. Oh well, it sounds interesting._

Cass took a deep breathe and looked up at the Lucky 38 that waited down the street behind the gates. The Sun reflected off some of the windows at the top. A small passing flock of birds flew around the building, some landing on the spires that protruded from it to rest. Her attention then turned back to the Courier. She thought that perhaps they could talk to each other when they are back in the suite. It had been a while and the Courier was a good listener unlike others in the past who tuned out to stare at her body when she told them in snarky ways to leave her alone. Although, with the Courier she would actually get into a decent conversation with him. She will soon see what would happen.

As the gate opened to allow the Courier to enter the Strip, the Courier saw movement in the right corner of his eye, behind a securitron scanning the street behind them. He looked and saw nothing but he squinted. He saw a faint outline of a person and realized it was someone using a stealth boy.

_Got you. _Thought the assassin as he aimed at the Courier with his pistol while taking cover behind the securitron.

The Courier quickly drew out his 10mm pistol and opened fired which surprised the assassin, causing him to miss his first shot. The Courier fired rapidly, hoping to hit his elusive attacker but his bullets missed, though a couple almost hit the assassin. The assassin managed to gave off two shots, one managing to hit the Courier in his arm. He then ran toward the opened gate so he may get lost among the crowds within the Strip since his stealth boy will eventually fade. There he will make further attempts on the Courier's life.

The securitron the assassin stood behind turned around and scanned for whatever threat the Courier fired at. Boone and Cass drew their weapons and were confused. Rex growled and sniffed at the air to catch the scent of the culprit.

"Are you alright?" Boone asked the Courier. Cass was going to ask the same question but Boone beat her to it.

"Yeah, just a flesh wound. They are using a silent pistol. Those things aren't that good. I'll just take a stimpak." Replied the Courier as he took a stimpak out from one of his pockets and administered it.

"Stealth boy?" Cass said to the Courier as she looked around cautiously.

"Yeah," The Courier said back "Let's go get whoever it is. Their stealth boy isn't going to last long."

The Courier reloaded his pistol and looked at the securitron that the assassin hid behind.

"Yes Man!" Called out the Courier to the robot which then became possessed by Yes Man.

"Hello!" Exclaimed Yes Man.

"Keep a close eye on this entrance. We have someone trying to kill me and I don't want them sneaking out. Keep the gate temporarily closed."

"No problem!"

Yes Man then left the securitron's body. Rex still sniffed at the air which gotten the attention of the Courier.

"You smell them, boy? Come on, let's go find them." The Courier said to Rex who only barked in response.

Finally, they entered the Strip. A few people outside were somewhat frightened from the gunshots earlier but continued on as usual. Cass and Boone looked around for anyone suspicious. Rex continued to sniff and apparently caught scent for he started to run, and so the Courier, Cass and Boone followed the dog.

They eventually made their way to The Tops casino, which was controlled by the Chairman. Once inside they were greeted by Swank, a well-dressed man behind a counter that was in charge ever since Benny died.

"Hello and... Oh, hello. How have you been? Been a while since I saw you around here. I heard you on the radio. What was Mr. New Vegas like?" Swank said to the Courier who approached the counter.

"Has anyone entered this place recently?" Said the Courier, ignoring Swank's question.

"Yeah, like four people. Why?" Swank asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I believe someone that is trying to kill me is here." Replied the Courier as he placed his hands on the counter.

"Shit, first Benny and now another. I guess you are going to ask me to let you keep your weapons? May we be of assistance? We have a bunch of patrons around and you know we like to keep things... calm."

"That would be nice. Make sure no one tries to sneak out. Get a few of your fellow chairman to observe the crowd for anyone suspicious. They are likely to be armed."

"I patted down everyone that comes but sure. You got it." Swank replied. He proceed to go whisper to a few nearby Chairmen of the situation. A few stationed themselves at the door while others went to inform others at the gambling floor to be on look out. There quite a lot of people present, some that have been gambling since last night.

The Courier, Cass, Boone and Rex moved through the casino. Rex continued to sniff and navigate his way. Meanwhile, near a poker table, the assassin fixed his hat and made quick glances. He spotted the Courier and also noticed the movement of the Chairmen.

_Trying to corner me, huh? _The assassin thought with a smirk. He then slowly made his among the patrons to head to the courtyard of the Tops. There would be less Chairmen and he'll have another clear shot for the Courier. Rex was going to be an issue but he could likely escape it by using the grenade it had. Apparently there was a tunnel at the casino that led out of the city. Although, he didn't know where it was but he could figure that out after killing the Courier.

The assassin moved through the casino slowly to avoid raising suspicion and headed to the courtyard at the back of the casino. He avoided getting close to Rex who struggled to trace the assassin due to the smoke in the air from the cigarettes of gambling patrons. Although, Rex knew he was nearby somewhere.

The sound of slot machines and music filled the casino as the assassin and Courier moved through it. The assassin made his way to the door that lead outside and looked behind to see if the Courier still followed. He also had his hand already on the frag grenade inside his pocket.

The Courier continued to follow Rex and they found themselves in the courtyard. A few people were by the pool and swimming in it. The assassin stood behind a and took out the frag grenade as soon as he saw the Courier exit through the doors with his companions. A couple of Chairmen were with them.

The assassin then raised his arm and threw the grenade at the Courier. It landed in front of him and this gave the assassin a large smile as he reached for his gun just in case.

Boone, Cass, and the Chairmen immediately ducked away except for the Courier who, without much thought, kicked the grenade into the pool before deciding to duck for cover. The grenade then exploded, pushing water high into the air. Those that were in the pool were fortunately far away from the explosion at the deep end.

"Fuck!" Muttered the assassin to himself as he quickly reached for his pistol.

People that were there to witness what happened screamed and fled from the courtyard. Rex spotted the assassin before he drew out his pistol to fire at the Courier and ran toward him.

As soon as the assassin had his gun out, he had no choice but to retreat away from the cybernetic dog that was quickly approaching him. Before he could turn and run, Rex pounced on him.

The assassin blocked Rex with one arm as he fired a couple shots at Rex's mechanical parts before throwing the dog into the pool. The Courier rose and drew out his pistol as the assassin resumed his attempt to flee.

The Courier shot three times and each had hit the assassin in the back, but he continued to run away. A wave of pain filled the assassin as he headed into the Tops restaurant. Meanwhile, Rex swam out of the pool as the Courier pursued his attacker.

Inside the restaurant, patrons quickly exited and three Chairmen were present. One shot at the assassin's chest and in turn he fired back, aiming at the Chairmen's head. The assassin successfully killed the Chairmen but he had to quickly duck behind cover, so he chose the bar. There was no bartender for they likely fled after the grenade went off.

Chairmen flooded the emptied restaurant with their weapons drawn at the bar. The Courier, Cass, Boone, and Rex then entered. They all focused in on the assassin's location. Rex growled loudly as water dripped off his body.

The assassin groaned as he felt his back to make sure the Courier's bullets didn't pierce through his armor that lined his suit. He definitely was going to have some nasty bruises later.

"God dammit..." Said the assassin quietly while Chairmen slowly approached the bar counter. The Courier had his service rifle ready and stayed away from the counter.

_I got cornered like a fucking rat... Jack would be disappointed. How depressing. _The assassin thought sarcastically. The assassin checked the amount of ammo he had and took out his knife.

_The mission's completion comes at any cost..._

The assassin then rose out from cover and threw his knife at the direction of the Courier and fired as many bullets as possible before being rapidly gunned downed by the Chairmen. The Courier did manage to shoot at the assassin's head, killing him. The knife struck the Courier's rifle, causing him to drop it. Two bullets hit the Courier's chest but the ranger armor managed to stop them from being deadly blow. Now he was definitely going to have some bad bruises.

"Are you alright?" Cass quickly asked the Courier while the others went closer to the bar counter to confirm the assassin was dead.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Probably broke my gun and I'll get a couple bruises. Thanks, Cass." Replied the Courier as he avoided eye contact with Cass, and picked up his rifle. The knife made a large scratch on the side of the rifle.

The Courier went to the counter to see the body of his would-be killer but as he did Swank entered the restaurant.

"Man, this is a mess! And in the restaurant! I guess I have to eat lunch somewhere else later. You guys get that poor guy off the floor." Swank said to several fellow Chairmen before he pointed at the corpse of the one killed by the assassin. The men then complied and got to work removing the body.

The Courier looked over the counter to see the slumped corpse of the assassin. His face was obscured by his hat which tilted forward. One could see the trail of blood flow out of his head, staining his suit. The Courier then went around the counter to inspect the body for any clues. He kneeled down and checked the dead man's pockets but only found caps and NCR bills.

_Damn. Who sent you?_ Thought the Courier.

The Courier then rose up and left the bar. Swank approached the Courier to speak with him as Chairmen proceed to take the assassin's body away from the restaurant.

"I see you got the bastard. Shame we didn't handle this quietly. Going to be a while before we got some customers back." Swank complained.

"Here's two-hundred caps for your troubles." The Courier replied. He then dug into his pockets and satchel for the caps, and gave them to Swank.

"Thank you," Swank said before letting out a sigh "I'll see you around, I guess. Also, congratulations on your victory at the Hoover Dam."

Swank then turned to the exit that lead into the gambling area of the casino, leaving the Courier to go to his companions. The Courier looked at Rex who was happily panting and still wet.

"You're soaked, boy. Let's get you dried up back-" The Courier said before being interrupted by Rex shaking off the water. Courier got partially wet and simply smiled at Rex who barked in response.

Cass and Boone watched the Courier silently until Cass spoke.

"What now?" She asked.

"Let's get back to the Lucky 38. We are pretty much done here." The Courier replied.

Next, the group left the Tops and returned to the Lucky 38. It was time for them to rest.

* * *

It was night time at New Reno, and so the small, big city of vice shinned bright. Although, most would say New Vegas is the true city of vice from even before the Great War. Of course, no one at New Reno would dare bring that up in arguments.

The criminal scum of the city were all discussing an anonymous individual had been hiring anyone skilled with a gun to kill a man in New Vegas known simply as the Courier. They all talked at length about the caps involved along with the risks. Third party contractors at the city all the way to NCR have been booked to send their mercenaries or bounty hunters to do one of two jobs. The first is for some to go for a special meeting that was to happen in a couple of weeks. The second was for those, if they felt capable, to try to kill the target instead of the first choice. A few had already started the journey to New Vegas.

No one has met this mysterious individual that was hiring but heard that they communicated to contractors only through letters sent by couriers. A couple that were illiterate instead received holotapes but they only played once and had a different voice before they were taken back to where they came from. It was strange but it in the end it sounded profitable. All that one had to do was eventually kill the Courier of New Vegas to claim their prize.


	7. Flagstaff

Flagstaff, Arizona, the capital of Caesar's Legion, buzzed with activity from merchants and customers trading with one another in its vast market. Brahmin mooed as they passed through the streets with heavy loads upon their backs alongside tired slaves. Legionaries watched from atop of ruined buildings with spears in hand, scanning the crowds for trouble while groups of two patrolled the busy, dusty streets.

Chain gangs worked about under strict supervision in the repair of buildings with whatever material they could gather. Slaves followed their masters under the hot Arizona sun to an auction that was happening that day.

While people tended to their business, a group of tired legionaries passed through the city. With them were Vulpes and Lucius. They were going to attend a meeting with other leaders of the Legion, mainly centurions stationed in Arizona who did not get to see the war in the west. Vulpes had heard that even consul Marcus Licinius Crassus, the head of the Offices of Servitude, which deal in the selling of slaves, would be attending the meeting. Vulpes could understand why for the Legion's leaderless state poses trouble for everyone. He found it wise of Marcus.

Eventually the two warriors arrived to a place that formerly was Northern Arizona University. Many tents were erected around the campus, and legionaries patrolled the area with mongrels at their side. Banners depicting the golden bull of the Legion hung from the side of the buildings on campus while the wind blew by. It was the heart of the Legion, though without the mind behind it who knows if it would continue to be.

While Vulpes and Lucius moved through the campus, legionaries stationed there whispered among themselves. The presence of the two men that directly served Caesar confirmed even more of the grand failure that occurred for the conquest of the west.

Vulpes and Lucius along with their personal legionaries eventually found themselves outside of what was once the Cline Library of the university. Two guards were stationed outside at the entrance while a banner hung above them from the building. One of the guards greeted both Vulpes and Lucius as they proceeded to go inside the old building.

"Ave. Welcome back, my lords." The guard said with a small bow. He was quickly ignored.

The interior of the library was neat and organized. It still obviously looked like it went through a nuclear apocalypse but the Legion did what they could to restore the building. They removed rumble from caved-in hallways along with the skeletons of people long gone. A few feral ghouls once lurked in the basement level but they were easily dealt with.

A few legionaries were present in the inside. Some were seated or wandered the building. Vulpes and Lucius paid no attention to any of them but assume they were the soldiers of the centurions and consuls that were to be attending the meeting.

They then traversed the building and passed by many rooms. One room they passed had a priestess with seven young boys. The priestess was teaching the children how to speak Latin. Another room had Legion currency being manufactured and processed. And another room was where an instructor slept after a long day of teaching a new generation of legionaries. What Vulpes and Lucius were looking for was the assembly room.

Soon, Lucius and Vulpes came upon a set of doors in a corridor guarded by two large men dressed in salvaged power armor. Their faces were obscured by typical power armor helmets that had brahmin horns attached to the sides. On the chest piece, the Legion's symbol was painted on but it was a bit faded around the edges. They were armed with super sledges and daggers. Among the Legion, they were called Bruti, individually referred to as a Brutus. They were a rare sight due to the requirements Caesar had in place for someone to be one, but they were most intimidating when they were encountered. Praetorian guards sometime had the honor to fight along side them.

The Bruti silently turned their heads simultaneously to see the two leaders approach them. They said nothing and allowed Vulpes and Lucius to pass through the doors.

The assembly room was large, as one would expect. Consuls and centurions stood about the room, mingling with one another. There were five recruit legionary acting as guards. Vulpes immediately spotted Marcus Crassus, confirming the rumors. As soon as the two were in the room, everyone looked at the tired warriors. One can see resentment in some of the faces of the centurions.

Then, someone spoke by greeting the two.

"Ave!" A short, hunched man in a suit approached in front of Vulpes and Lucius with a smile. Lucius silently scowled while Vulpes responded.

"Ave." Vulpes replied in an unenthusiastic tone with his arms crossed.

In the middle of the room were tables placed together. Everyone then proceeded to sit around it to begin the meeting. The first to speak was a consul.

"So Caesar is gone. What happens now? We have no Legate to carry on his will, and we've spent lots of resources in the war effort for the west. You two are left." The consul said coldly toward Vulpes and Lucius. Vulpes could tell Lucius was considering getting up, and punching the consul in the face with his power fist, splattering his head all over the floor. Although, Lucius still maintained patience.

"Yes, the fall of Caesar and Legate Lanius leaves the future uncertain for the Legion. We no doubt will look weak to those in the east!" Another consul said.

Everyone in the room began to argue among themselves. A few of them in the room quickly realized how foolish it was for Caesar to not establish a proper order of succession. Of course, they wisely kept the thought to themselves otherwise a physical fight would break out, especially with the centurions. Still, in the back of everyone's minds, there was a feeling of terror for the Legion's future that couldn't be denied.

"Everyone, shut up!" Yelled Lucius as he slammed his fists onto the table. Everyone became silent and looked at the old leader of the Praetorian guard.

"Anyone that threaten the Legion will face our fury if they see us as weak! Our enemies in the east are few and will cower away." Lucius continued.

"What about what occurred west? The new threat?" A centurion responded.

"What new threat? Isn't it only the NCR out west? Aren't they weak?" Another centurion interjected.

"You haven't heard? We lost to an army of machines at Hoover Dam." A consul condescendingly answered. The room was then briefly silent and waited for Lucius' response.

"We were winning. If we were prepared, we could've taken the dam!" Lucius finally said.

"I'm sorry but who exactly did we lose to?" A silent consul spoke.

"A Courier." Vulpes finally contributed to the discussion.

"Who are they?" Another consul said. The consuls tend to not be concerned with enemies of the Legion since most have been tribes, and hardly posed much of a threat. The only one recently worth acknowledging was the NCR.

"A man. I heard stories of this Courier being the one to kill Caesar." A centurion answered the consul with a hint of rage. The thought of someone striking down their mighty leader was tragic.

"I heard slaves spreading rumors about him. Some were inspired to disobey orders before I had their blood spilled. Hopefully this isn't going to be a problem." A centurion commented. The consul Marcus looked on with fear. A slave revolt coming from the Courier's actions was going to be bad for him.

"Is that it? Are you telling me we lost the dam and got pushed back by a mailman? That is ridiculous!" A centurion whose face was covered in scars responded rudely. A few other centurions agreed with him. It sounded unbelievable that one person was responsible for their defeat.

"Don't underestimate. He killed Legate Lanius and he was one of our most fearsome warriors. He didn't became chosen by Caesar to be Legate for nothing." Vulpes replied.

"Anyway, what are we going to do? Without Caesar to hold things together, the Legion may crumble apart!" A consul asked to return to the original subject of the meeting.

"We'll maintain order as usual. Vulpes and I will see that no one will separate from us. Caesar lives on in the banners of the Legion!" Said Lucius with pride.

"Are you saying you are in charge?" A centurion responded to Lucius curiously.

"Yes since I been the closest to Caesar and know how to keep order." Lucius replied without hesitation.

"No, you are old and weak to be the new Caesar!" Another centurion yelled as they furiously rose from their seat. Lucius balled his hands into fist in anticipation of a fight. Vulpes quickly responded to deescalate the situation. He knew fighting was going to happen among fellow legionaries but he didn't expect it so soon.

"He does not mean it like that. It is temporary until we can come up with a resolution to our lack of supreme leadership." Vulpes calmly said. Lucius turned and shot an angry glare at the Frumentarius. Vulpes paid no mind to it since it wasn't the first time he was given that face.

"Why not have the strongest lead? It is what we always done. It's what Caesar taught us!" A centurion declared.

"Yes, I believe we should have a grand battle with all fellow centurions for the role of Caesar! You two must also fight to keep your place!" Another centurion declared. Everyone seemed to agree with him except for the consuls. They never were fond of the mentality warriors possessed, and remained skeptical because a foolish brute could rule over them. It was one of their fears about Legate Lanius but good thing he perished back west. Still, Lanius' death was only postponing the inevitable.

Lucius grumbled to himself as Vulpes replied to everyone.

"Let's not be too hasty. We must keep our numbers and regrow before such an event could take place. We still have enemies and soldiers to lead."

Everyone proceeded to agree with Vulpes. Some were reluctant due to their strong dislike for Vulpes since his existence in the Legion contradicted their values of honorable combat. Regardless, they will just have to tolerate Vulpes a while longer since they will have their chance to fight him. In their ideal Legion, the use of treachery will never be relied upon.

"Yes... Though know that you will be challenged, Vulpes!" A centurion said with a smile to Vulpes while flaunting off a bowie knife he pulled out, which he proceeded to stab into the table. Vulpes was unfazed by the threat.

"No doubt I will." Replied Vulpes with a blank stare. If it came to it, Vulpes wasn't going to allow himself get slaughtered. Him and his Frumentarii would easily fend off the mindless brutes. There was a reason Caesar handpicked only the best to be among the Frumentarii.

"So are we finished here? I have matters to attend to. Your little squabbles bore me." A consul said with a bored face.

"So do I." A centurion followed up.

"Then it is decided. The Legion must heal first before we find who will be worthy to lead." Declared Vulpes while Lucius watched him with a scowl. Lucius didn't like how Vulpes took charge of the whole conversation and felt like striking him.

"No, I rather get things over with!" A centurion barked out as they rose from his seat and approached Vulpes. The centurion had a shaved head and drew out his machete. Vulpes remained unfazed and observed the centurion as he slowly risen from his own chair. The recruit legionary that stood nearby as guards did not move for they were unsure how to respond. Both were their superiors and they worried if they interfered that they would be punished by one of them. They had no choice but to watch the situation resolve itself.

"I don't know what Caesar saw in you but you are nothing but dishonor!" The centurion proclaimed as he got closer. Everyone watched Vulpes to his response. Soon the centurion was six steps away from Vulpes. One can easily sense the immense cockiness radiating from the centurion.

"Well, if that is-" Vulpes said before pulling out a knife and slashed at the throat of the centurion, who was not prepared for the sudden strike. He was briefly caught up in what Vulpes had to say before he killed him. Unfortunately, it was him that perished instead for he fell to the floor, clutching at his throat to stop the blood from pouring out. Everyone looked on with mostly blank faces as Vulpes looked at his bloodied knife before he placed it on the table. A few of the consuls were shaken by the swift act of violence.

No one came to assist the dying centurion. The recruit legionaries simply came to drag his body out of the room through a nearby door.

"What a mess. I believe we are done here. A message to all centurions will need to be sent, and until we all can gather we'll maintain order. Farewell." A centurion said before sighing. Everyone then got up and headed toward the exits.

Lucius was the first to leave. He didn't say a word to Vulpes who stayed behind in the hall. Vulpes briefly watched the old Praetorian walk away before following. He still felt unsure on how things were going to play out for the Legion. It wouldn't be long before ambition rend Caesar's grand empire apart.

Vulpes sighed and proceeded down the hall. Him and Lucius were to return to their forces they had lead back home from the Mojave.

* * *

In the southern roads leading to Flagstaff, an elderly merchant travelled along with his pack brahmin and legionary escorts. The merchant swiped off sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his jumpsuit.

_Curse the sun... _Thought the merchant as he looked up at the clear sky. The pack brahmin then mooed, mostly indifferent to the heat it had grown to be used to for all its life.

As they travelled closer toward the capital, they heard a sound in the distance. They turned to look southwest, and they saw the approaching silhouette of legionaries jogging. The merchant squinted to see who was approaching.

He saw a large figure resembling a centurion but their armor was vastly different. It wasn't colored red. Furthermore, the merchant observed that the others that were following were primarily decani.

The merchant and his escorts stood there, watching the approaching group. They had a good look at the centurion. His armor was of heavy gauge steel and looked much more impressive compared to what centurions commonly wore. It had a light green and yellow tint with the symbol of the golden bull of Caesar's Legion painted on the chest. The centurion also wore a typical helmet of the same style that suited the armor and his rank. Notably, he had his face obscured by a bandana. All one could see was his eyes. As he got closer, one could see something off with the skin around the eyes. It was like a rotten look but not quite. It was difficult to tell from afar.

The legionaries with the merchant then quickly stood at attention for they soon realized who they were looking at in particular. That armor was forged in Flagstaff for one person as a reward from Caesar. It was a gift for conquering the 87th tribe for the Legion. It was a warrior named Gaius Magnus, and it was thought he perished at what was once called Dry Wells where fire rained from the sky supposedly. Perhaps Mars, the god of war, had more planned for him. It was the only thing the legionaries with the merchant could conclude to explain the man they were seeing who was seemingly alive.

Soon the approaching group passed by the merchant and his escorts. The legionaries greeted the arriving warriors but they were ignored. They were in a rush. They had to meet up with Vulpes and Lucius for Magnus had something important in mind.


End file.
